US open: Stocks mixed as bond yields remain in focus

Wall Street stocks were mixed early on Thursday as elevated bond yields continued to weigh on stocks.

As of 1530 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.22% at 42,421.71, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.16% to 5,806.89 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.42% firmer at 18,352.82.

The Dow Jones opened 93.24 points lower on Thursday, extending losses recorded in the previous session.

Treasury yields were in focus yet again early on Thursday after the benchmark 10-year note rose above 4.25% in the previous session. As of 1530 BST, it had eased by less than a basis point and was sitting at 4.235%, while its short-dated two-year counterpart was slightly more than two basis points lower at 4.072%.

On the macro front, US initial unemployment claims fell by 15,000 week-on-week to 227,000, according to the Labor Department, the lowest reading so far this month and well below market expectations for a flat print of 242,000. The four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, rose by 2,000 to 238,500, while continuing claims increased from 1.86m to 1.89m, the highest reading since mid-November 2021.

Elsewhere, the Chicago Fed's national activity index decreased to -0.28 in September, down from a revised reading of -0.01 in August.

On another note, preliminary readings of S&P Global's manufacturing and services PMIs came in at 47.8 and 55.3 in October.

Still on data, new home sales jumped 4.1% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 738,000 in September, according to the Census Bureau, the highest reading since May 2023 and ahead of forecasts for a print of 720,000.

Still to come, the Kansas Federal Reserve's October manufacturing index was slated for release at 1600 BST.

In the corporate space, logistics firm United Parcel Service beat quarterly profit expectations on Thursday as the group benefitted from improved volumes and tight cost controls, Tesla shares traded higher in after the electric carmaker beat Q3 profit expectations, while shares in tech giant IBM headed south on the back of consulting revenues that fell short of expectations.

Elsewhere, Intel emerged victorious in a lengthy legal battle with the European Union on Thursday, as the bloc's top court ruled in its favour, dismissing a €1.06bn antitrust fine.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $288.47 1.42%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $22.17 0.86%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $568.87 0.75%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $258.98 0.64%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $519.70 0.48%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $316.10 0.38%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $299.61 0.35%
3M Co. (MMM) $128.19 0.22%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $400.30 0.17%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $425.24 0.15%

Dow Jones - Fallers

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $219.35 -5.76%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $41.81 -2.46%
Boeing Co. (BA) $153.40 -2.33%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $164.48 -0.83%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $51.16 -0.64%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $67.64 -0.54%
American Express Co. (AXP) $269.88 -0.50%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $56.06 -0.39%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $95.87 -0.38%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $82.96 -0.37%

S&P 500 - Risers

Whirlpool Corp. (WHR) $108.89 9.68%
CBRE Group Inc (CBRE) $134.37 9.14%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $223.24 7.51%
Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (LH) $234.05 6.44%
Raymond James Fin Corp. (RJF) $145.26 5.75%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $75.87 4.13%
Centene Corp. (CNC) $62.26 4.08%
United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) $136.70 4.03%
Globe Life Inc. (GL) $114.67 3.44%
Mattel Inc. (MAT) $18.33 3.12%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Newmont Corporation (NEM) $53.05 -8.12%
Textron Inc. (TXT) $81.52 -6.16%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $219.35 -5.76%
Ameriprise Financial Inc. (AMP) $493.32 -5.22%
IQVIA Holdings Inc. (IQV) $217.38 -4.79%
Union Pacific Corp. (UNP) $230.21 -4.62%
Rollins Inc. (ROL) $47.49 -4.55%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $67.39 -4.17%
Allegion (ALLE) $144.72 -4.07%
Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) $29.56 -3.81%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $249.17 16.63%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $223.24 7.51%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $75.87 4.13%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $229.02 3.65%
Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $27.48 2.54%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $205.39 1.81%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $88.77 1.77%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $99.16 1.55%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $674.59 1.50%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $106.62 1.49%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Hasbro Inc (HAS) $67.39 -4.17%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $38.99 -2.51%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $78.59 -1.82%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $33.03 -1.65%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $26.43 -1.42%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $173.12 -1.33%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $52.87 -1.29%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $88.84 -1.23%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $171.38 -1.23%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $12.71 -0.94%