US open: Stocks modestly higher despite soft PMIs

Trading on Wall Street got off to a positive start in a potentially eventful week.

That was despite the release of survey data showing that private sector production slowed further at the beginning of the third quarter.

At 1533 BST, the Dow Jones Industrials Average was up by 154.91 points to 35,382.79, led by gains in shares of Chevron and John & Johnson, alongside a 16 point gain on the S&P 500 to 4,552.74.

The Nasdaq Composite was ahead by 23.95 points to 14,055.18.

S&P Global's PMI Composite Output Index slipped from a reading of 52.3 for June to 52.0 in July.

The 'flash' Purchasing Managers' Index for services alone fell from 54.4 to 52.4 (consensus: 54.3) - a five-month low while that for manufacturing improved from 46.3 to 49.0 (consensus: 46.4).

The survey compiler said the surveys were consistent with a slowdown in GDP growth from a 2.0% annualised pace in June to 1.5% in July.

S&P Global also called attention to the drop in the outlook for business one year ahead and the stickiness in prices.

On Wednesday, policymakers at the Federal Reserve were widely expected to announce another 25 basis point interest rate hike.

More important however would be the post-meeting press conference and any clues as to whether more hikes should be expected or not, with futures markets anticipating the latter.

Also on Wednesday night, technology giants Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Alphabet were all due to publish their latest quarterly results.

Dow Jones - Risers

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $173.38 1.87%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $358.05 1.73%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $161.42 1.72%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $157.12 1.40%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $259.98 0.90%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $34.17 0.84%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $193.50 0.81%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $322.77 0.72%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $346.06 0.67%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $139.75 0.58%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $224.97 -1.35%
American Express Co. (AXP) $168.07 -1.26%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $52.55 -0.94%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $109.56 -0.75%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $108.75 -0.28%
3M Co. (MMM) $104.15 -0.17%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $152.78 -0.10%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $30.45 -0.03%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $172.79 -0.02%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%

S&P 500 - Risers

Becton, Dickinson & Company (BDX) $281.93 6.45%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $9.53 4.38%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $21.57 4.10%
Halliburton Co. (HAL) $37.82 2.38%
Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) $125.83 2.31%
Sl Green Realty Corp. (SLG) $35.84 2.10%
Vornado Realty Trust (VNO) $20.74 2.09%
Western Union Co. (WU) $12.44 2.09%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $122.51 2.07%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $122.81 2.07%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Estee Lauder Co. Inc. (EL) $173.61 -3.37%
Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $210.17 -2.69%
AES Corp. (AES) $21.89 -2.69%
Travel + Leisure Co (TNL) $41.16 -2.53%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $17.45 -2.40%
Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) $29.29 -2.40%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $17.02 -2.29%
Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (IPG) $32.13 -2.25%
United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $56.33 -2.21%
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $20.64 -1.88%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $9.77 2.84%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $122.51 2.07%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $122.81 2.07%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $634.96 1.82%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $1.04 1.46%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $81.79 1.13%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $67.44 0.94%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $7.51 0.94%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $447.13 0.91%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $43.27 0.89%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $6.55 -7.42%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $17.02 -2.29%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,196.75 -1.99%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $79.28 -1.69%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $117.14 -1.56%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $331.67 -1.48%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $78.90 -1.28%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $58.85 -1.27%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $149.92 -1.09%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $455.15 -1.08%