US open: Stocks trade higher in 2022's second-to-last session

Wall Street stocks were in the green early on Thursday but major indices remained firmly on course for a losing year in 2022's penultimate session.

As of 1455 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.79% at 33,135.20, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.24% to 3,830.10 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 1.76% firmer at 10,393.25.

The Dow opened 259.49 points higher on Thursday, taking a bite out of losses recorded in the previous session.

In focus early on Thursday, the US joined India, Italy, Japan, and Taiwan in requiring negative Covid tests for travellers from China. The move comes as China battles a surge in coronavirus infections while also attempting to dismantle its zero-tolerance approach to the virus amid low vaccination rates, particularly among the elderly.

On the macro front, weekly jobless claims in the States rose slightly more than expected in the seven days ended 24 December, according to the Department of Labor, with initial unemployment claims increasing by 9,000 to reach 225,000. Economists expected to see initial claims rise to 223,000, up from 216,000 a week earlier.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Thursday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $129.32 2.36%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $86.17 2.20%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $25.96 1.64%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $238.16 1.55%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $116.63 1.28%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $47.61 1.15%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $130.50 1.13%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $319.45 1.03%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $142.95 1.01%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $50.53 1.00%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Boeing Co. (BA) $187.79 -0.14%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $0.00 0.00%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $265.45 0.06%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $132.45 0.14%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $188.27 0.28%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $63.88 0.31%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $111.55 0.46%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $240.89 0.51%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $39.01 0.52%

S&P 500 - Risers

Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $2.16 4.35%
HF Sinclair Corporation (DINO) $50.88 3.98%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $287.04 3.67%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $414.83 2.99%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $144.47 2.93%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $196.27 2.86%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $69.44 2.80%
VF Corp. (VFC) $26.57 2.75%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $69.71 2.71%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $377.40 2.62%

S&P 500 - Fallers

US Bancorp (USB) $42.91 -1.01%
Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) $32.44 -0.87%
Boston Properties Inc. (BXP) $65.80 -0.81%
Edison International (EIX) $64.65 -0.57%
AvalonBay Communities Inc. (AVB) $160.52 -0.35%
Boeing Co. (BA) $187.79 -0.31%
M&T Bank Corp. (MTB) $143.21 -0.25%
Unum Group (UNM) $40.63 -0.25%
Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) $61.98 -0.16%
Sempra Energy (SRE) $156.07 -0.16%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $120.60 7.00%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $1.52 4.11%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $287.04 3.67%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $414.83 2.99%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $144.47 2.93%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $546.98 2.89%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $196.27 2.86%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $69.44 2.80%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $69.71 2.71%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $377.40 2.62%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $34.50 -0.14%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $0.00 0.00%
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM) $0.00 0.00%
Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $103.90 0.00%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $0.00 0.00%
Cerner Corp. (CERN) $0.00 0.00%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $0.00 0.00%
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $0.00 0.00%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $0.00 0.00%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $66.88 0.07%