US open: Stocks rise, helped by apparently stronger-than-expected data

Stocks were moving higher on Thursday despite a batch of fresh economic data that, at least on the surface, came in ahead of forecasts.

As of 1600 BST, the Dow Jones Industrials was rising 0.69% to 34,812.88, while the Nasdaq Composite was ahead by 0.76% to 13,918.84.

In parallel, front-dated West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were adding 1.42% to $89.94 a barrel on NYMEX.

Yields on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes were roughly flat at about 4.26%.

The US dollar index was also higher, adding 0.38% to 105.16, buoyed perhaps by a 'dovish' 25 basis point rate hike by the European Central Bank.

America's Department of Commerce reported that retail sales volumes grew at a month-on-month pace of 0.6% in August to reach $697.56bn (consensus: 0.2%).

Nevertheless, economists at Pantheon Macroeconomics, noted that revisions to prior data meant that that outcome was in fact slightly below the consensus.

So too, the latest weekly jobless claims data again undershot forecasts - even if only slightly - but the figures might still be distorted to the downside as a result of Hurricane Idalia.

Wholesale prices meanwhile printed at up by 0.7% on the month for August (consensus: 0.4%), pushed higher by a jump in gasoline prices.

Yet Pantheon believed that there was a "real chance" of core producer price inflation hitting zero in the spring of 2024.

In company news, British chip designer Arm's shares were being called to start trading on the Nasdaq about 13% above its flotation price.

Owner SoftBank was thought to have raised around $5bn from the IPO, according to reports.

"The market valuation is still a long way short of the $64 billion implied by internal dealmaking at current owner Softbank last month, but if the bankers advising the company called it right then the chip designer could be approaching those levels sooner rather than later," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

Dow Jones - Risers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $22.47 2.58%
3M Co. (MMM) $103.29 2.22%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $281.45 2.00%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $149.34 2.00%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $53.86 1.97%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $340.78 1.73%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $339.99 1.17%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $164.96 1.12%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $260.09 1.11%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $284.74 1.05%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Visa Inc. (V) $240.69 -2.88%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $107.12 -0.64%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $58.19 -0.42%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $163.61 -0.23%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $479.48 -0.08%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $83.51 0.04%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $38.74 0.08%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $164.77 0.13%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $56.40 0.20%

S&P 500 - Risers

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $17.16 4.92%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $6.57 4.87%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $15.74 4.83%
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $1.46 3.93%
Mosaic Company (MOS) $38.44 3.36%
Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) $4.70 3.30%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $41.03 3.25%
Westrock Company (WRK) $36.93 3.24%
Dxc Technology Company (DXC) $20.56 2.88%
AT&T Inc. (T) $15.04 2.86%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $0.66 -4.28%
Visa Inc. (V) $240.69 -2.88%
Ecolab Inc. (ECL) $175.48 -2.64%
HP Inc (HPQ) $27.65 -2.42%
IQVIA Holdings Inc. (IQV) $211.37 -2.41%
Altria Group Inc. (MO) $43.70 -2.35%
Expeditors International Of Washington Inc. (EXPD) $116.12 -1.83%
J. M. Smucker Co. (SJM) $126.27 -1.67%
Centene Corp. (CNC) $67.30 -1.52%
RTX Corporation (RTX) $74.50 -1.40%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $0.64 6.18%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $6.57 4.87%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $4.27 2.89%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $22.47 2.58%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $85.41 2.56%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $3,181.81 2.12%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $329.08 2.07%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $64.12 2.04%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $98.59 2.02%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $869.38 1.93%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $407.34 -1.19%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,383.84 -0.97%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $149.61 -0.77%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $68.69 -0.71%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $106.33 -0.46%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $35.64 -0.42%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $91.29 -0.36%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $77.15 -0.21%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $71.90 -0.19%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $302.14 -0.19%