US open: Stocks trade higher, Dow reverses yesterday's losses

Wall Street stocks were in the green early on Thursday following a third-straight losing session for the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average.

As of 1545 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.40% at 39,285.52, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.66% to 5,245.77 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.81% firmer at 16,409.12.

The Dow Jones opened 158.38 points higher on Thursday, reversing losses recorded in the previous session as investors continue to fear that the Federal Reserve may look to maintain high interest rates longer than initially expected.

Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said on Wednesday that the central bank will need to see more proof that inflation has started to move in the direction of its 2% guideline before making any cuts to interest rates. Atlanta Fed head Raphael Bostic also warned that just one cut might be in the cards for 2024.

Wall Street has adjusted its expectations for rate reductions, with Fed funds futures now suggesting a 58.5% likelihood of a cut at the FOMC's June meeting, down from about 70%.

While investors were primarily holding out until tomorrow's non-farm payrolls report, data out on Thursday revealed that the US jobs market remained tight during the week ended 30 March, as according to the Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms the number of initial unemployment claims increased by 9,000 to reach 221,000.

The four-week moving average, which aims to smooth out the variations in the data from one week to the next, rose by 2,750 to 214,250. Secondary unemployment claims, which are those not being filed for the first time and referencing the week that finished on 23 March, slipped by 19,000 to hit 1.79m.

Elsewhere, the number of layoff announcements in the US continued to rise in March, the results of a survey revealed. According to consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the number of announcements increased by 7% versus February to reach 90,039. That was virtually identical to the 89,703 hit during the same month of 2023. However, for the first quarter as a whole job cut announcements jumped by 120% in comparison to the three months ending in December to reach 117,163.

Still to come, Richmond Fed president Tom Barkin will speak at 1715 BST, Austan Goolsbee of the Chicago Fed was due to deliver a speech at 1745 BST, while Minneapolis Fed boss Neel Kashkari and Cleveland Fed CEO Loretta Mester were both set to make comments at 1900 BST.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $18.95 2.43%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $231.87 1.23%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $425.55 1.21%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $49.32 1.19%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $193.04 1.12%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $43.26 0.98%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $170.96 0.77%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $161.43 0.62%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $60.33 0.57%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $119.60 0.52%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $299.38 -1.76%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $274.85 -0.25%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $59.31 -0.19%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $90.31 -0.02%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $129.94 0.03%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $414.49 0.12%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $274.85 0.15%
3M Co. (MMM) $93.34 0.16%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $460.59 0.18%

S&P 500 - Risers

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $1.11 6.25%
Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK) $44.16 5.44%
ConAgra Brands Inc (CAG) $30.38 4.54%
VF Corp. (VFC) $14.36 3.24%
Coty Inc. Class A (COTY) $11.24 3.21%
Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (BFH) $36.49 3.11%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $452.85 2.93%
PVH Corp. (PVH) $108.51 2.86%
General Electric Co. (GE) $149.76 2.84%
Extra Space Storage (EXR) $148.87 2.63%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (LW) $83.22 -17.70%
Sysco Corp. (SYY) $77.61 -2.93%
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $1.38 -2.82%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $25.35 -2.05%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $299.38 -1.76%
Foot Locker Inc. (FL) $24.95 -1.50%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $1,116.63 -1.44%
Celanese Corp. (CE) $168.84 -1.42%
HF Sinclair Corporation (DINO) $62.37 -1.24%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $153.10 -1.17%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $452.85 2.93%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $18.95 2.43%
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $518.49 2.32%
Hasbro Inc (HAS) $56.67 2.22%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $1,391.44 2.07%
Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $251.38 2.03%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $590.59 2.02%
Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $22.50 1.97%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $93.30 1.82%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,530.00 1.66%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

JD.com, Inc. (JD) $26.53 -2.71%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $8.89 -2.20%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $1,116.63 -1.44%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $153.10 -1.17%
Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $154.60 -1.13%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $126.79 -0.95%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $49.08 -0.61%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $96.47 -0.29%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $382.57 -0.22%
Fastenal Co. (FAST) $76.25 -0.14%