US open: Stocks trade higher as earnings continue to roll in

Wall Street stocks were in the green at the bell on Thursday as investors continued to digest earnings and goings-on across the pond.

As of 1525 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.28% at 30,814.33, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.04% to 3,733.68 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 1.38% stronger at 10,828.35.

The Dow opened 390.52 points higher on Thursday, easily reversing losses recorded in the previous session.

As far as Thursday's earnings slate goes, telecommunications company AT&T posted third-quarter revenue and earnings on Thursday, beating Wall Street estimates thanks to solid growth in subscriber numbers, and American Airlines beat adjusted earnings estimates with its Q3 figures and said it expects to turn a Q4 profit thanks to a solid rebound in travel demand.

Tobacco giant Philip Morris also beat Q3 estimates and raised its full-year revenue guidance, while Whirlpool and Snap will report their latest sets of quarterly figures after the close.

Outside of corporate results, the resignation of UK prime minister Elizabeth Truss after just 45 days in the job will be the session's other primary focus. Truss stands down from the role amid policy u-turns, sackings and financial market collapses. A leadership election will now take place but there is now a growing call, not least from the opposition Labour Party, for a general election to be called.

Also drawing an amount of investor attention at the open was news that the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note had briefly hit 4.18% early on Thursday - its highest level since 2007.

On the macro front, Americans filed first-time unemployment benefits at a decelerated pace in the week ended 15 October, according to the Department of Labor, with new unemployment claims dropping by 12,000 to 214,000, well below market expectations for a print of 230,000 and halting expectations of a loosening labour market.

Elsewhere, manufacturing production in the Philadelphia region deteriorated more than expected in October, with the Philadelphia Fed index for current manufacturing activity edging up one point to -8.7, coming in below expectations for a reading of -5.0 for the fourth negative reading in five months.

Still on data, existing home sales slipped last month weighed down by fast-rising mortgage rates, led by declines in the more expensive regions of the US. According to the National Association of Realtors, in seasonally adjusted terms, existing home sales shrank at a month-on-month clip of 1.5% to reach an annualised pace of 4.71m. Economists had pencilled-in a reading of 4.7m.

Finally, the Conference Board's leading economic index decreased by 0.4% to 115.9 in September, with its "persistent downward trajectory" suggesting that a recession was increasingly likely before the end of 2022.

Federal Reserve bankers Patrick Harker, Philip Jefferson, Lisa Cook and Michelle Bowman will also deliver speeches throughout the course of the day.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com