US open: Stocks mixed as S&P 500 nears 5,000

By Sharecast News

Sharecast News | 08 Feb, 2024

Wall Street trading got off to a mixed start on Thursday as the S&P 500 continued to flirt with the 5,000-point mark.

As of 1525 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.03% at 38,666.80, while the S&P 500 advanced just 0.01% to 4,995.69 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.20% firmer at 15,788.48.

The Dow opened 10.56 points lower on Thursday, taking only a small bite out of gains recorded in the previous session.

Treasury yields were in focus early on Thursday, with the benchmark 10-year note sitting at around 4.15%, pressuring stocks despite a series of better-than-expected results from major corporate players.

On the macro front, Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at a decelerated clip in the week ended 2 February, according to the Labor Department. Initial jobless claims dropped by 9,000 to 218,000 from the prior week's upwardly revised value, slightly below estimates for a reading of 220,000 but firmly above the last two months' average and pointing to a slowing, yet, strong labor market. Elsewhere, continuing claims dropped by 23,000 to 1.87m in the last week of January, while the four-week moving average jumped by 3,750 to 212,250.

On another note, wholesale inventories rose 0.4% month-on-month in December, according to the Census Bureau, erasing the prior month's decrease. It marked the first increase in wholesale stocks since November 2022, driven by durable goods, most notably computer equipment and automotive.

Still to come, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond president Thomas Barkin was scheduled to deliver a speech at 1705 GMT.

In the corporate space, Expedia and Take-Two Interactive will both report earnings after the close on Thursday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $108.93 9.87%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $292.20 1.16%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $104.85 1.02%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $153.28 0.76%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $365.33 0.73%
American Express Co. (AXP) $210.29 0.58%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $325.13 0.48%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $170.18 0.47%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $387.20 0.14%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $22.83 0.09%