US open: Stocks mixed as traders assess risks after Brussels attacks

US stocks were mixed on Thursday as traders weighed economic data and assessed the risks following explosions in Belgium.

At 1529 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.11%, the S&P 500 dipped 0.02% but the Nasdaq rose 0.22%.

At least 34 people were killed and others injured as suicide bombers attacked launched twin attacks on Brussels Zaventem airport and the city's Maelbeek metro station on Tuesday morning.

Maggie de Block, the Belgian health minister, said 14 people died and 81 were injured in the airport explosions at 0700 GMT, which the Belgian prosecutor, cited by Belgian broadcaster RTBF, said were a suicide attack. The blasts come four days after the capture in Brussels of Salah Abdeslam, the main suspect in the jihadist attacks in Paris on 13 November 2015 that killed more than 130 people.

An hour later, 20 people were killed and 55 injured at Maelbeek metro station in central Brussels near the European Union buildings, metro operating firm Brussels Intercommunal Transport Company said, adding that the entire system is shut as a result.

The news sent shockwaves across global equity markets while safety plays such as gold and US Treasurys rose after the incident.

In economic data, Markit’s flash US manufacturing PMI nudged up to 51.4 in March from 51.3 the previous month, missing forecasts of 51.9. The reading was well below the post-crisis average of 54.1 but above the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction.

“While some comfort might be drawn from the marginal rise in the PMI compared to February, the rate of growth remains worryingly weak and the lack of a stronger rebound is a disappointment, given that many companies reported bad weather to have hit activity in the first two months of the year,” said Markit’s chief economist, Chris Williamson.

Separately, a measure of manufacturing activity in the lower US Atlantic region rose in March to its strongest level in nearly six years, the Richmond Federal Reserve said. The Richmond Federal Reserve's composite factory index rose to +22 points in March from -4 in February, surpassing expectations of 0.

US house prices nudged higher in January led by increases in the Northwest and Southeast. The Federal Housing Finance Agency´s monthly house price index rose 0.5% month-on-month in January to 230.7.

Meanwhile, oil prices wavered with West Texas Intermediate crude falling 0.16% to $41.45 per barrel and Brent rising 0.36% to $41.69 per barrel at 1541 GMT.

In company news, American Airlines declined after the company refuted earlier reports that the two explosions at Brussels international airport happened next to its check-in desk.

Other travel and leisure stocks including Expedia, Priceline and Carnival Corp. were also under pressure in the wake of the attacks.

The US dollar rose 0.13% against the euro and jumped 1.03% against the pound but fell 0.12% versus the yen.