US open: Stocks trading on front foot after less 'hawkish' Fedspeak

Share trading on Wall Street got off to a positive start on Friday after one of the most hawkish top US central bank officials said he might need to rethink his policy bias.

The head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Robert Kaplan, reportedly said that the Delta variant of Covid-19 was unfolding quickly and while it was not yet having a big impact, it was hurting firms' ability to find workers due to fears of possible infection.

As at 1510 BST, the Dow Jones Industrials was adding 0.49% or 172.37 points to 35,059.66, alongside a 0.59% or 25.51 point advance for the S&P 500 to 4,431.23 while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.88% or 130.84 points to 14,673.74.

Overnight, the Hang Seng entered so-called 'bear market' territory, while crude futures and 10-year US Treasury note yields were down but the US dollar and gold remained smidgen higher.

In the background, Bank of America's Ethan S.Harris and Aditya Bhave, said in a research note sent to clients that while anticipating slower US economic growth in the third quarter, they were also expecting a faster pace of expansion in the last three months of the year - both in the US and China.

The two economists said that the slowdown in the US was the result of higher Covid cases and "severe" supply-side constraints, while in China it was mainly because of policy tightening and a slow response to weakening growth.

On a related note, overnight news broke of Beijing's intention to tighten data privacy laws.

There was also some talk to be heard that China should impose a wealth tax.

On the corporate side of things, stock in Moderna was dipping 0.37% after the Washington Post said US health officials were looking into reports of a higher than previously estimated risk of a heart condition linked to its Covid-19 vaccine.

Ross Stores' shares were lower alongside, retreating 5.15% after the retailer's guidance fell short of the Street consensus.

Stock in Nvidia was up nearly 3% despite news that the Competition and Markets Authority had decided to launch an in-depth investigation into its takeover of UK chipmaker ARM.

Worth noting, there was some market chatter to be heard that options' expiry on Friday could contribute to volatility in financial markets.

Dow Jones - Risers

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $303.90 2.40%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $256.29 1.27%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $325.97 0.95%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $79.11 0.83%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $151.36 0.83%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $166.90 0.79%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $431.12 0.75%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $179.84 0.71%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $138.95 0.67%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $145.93 0.65%

Dow Jones - Fallers

American Express Co. (AXP) $158.34 -0.43%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $93.96 -0.35%
3M Co. (MMM) $194.80 -0.29%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $52.37 -0.13%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $154.18 -0.06%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $230.94 0.00%
Visa Inc. (V) $231.72 0.06%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $394.05 0.12%
Boeing Co. (BA) $212.47 0.15%

S&P 500 - Risers

Foot Locker Inc. (FL) $59.11 8.68%
CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $11.70 3.17%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $203.23 2.65%
Under Armour, Inc. (UA) $19.55 2.60%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $482.16 2.51%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $303.90 2.40%
Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $23.14 2.34%
Arconic Inc. (ARNC) $35.11 2.33%
Ball Corp (BLL) $94.60 2.27%
Target Corp. (TGT) $250.95 2.26%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $120.94 -4.46%
Phillips 66 Common Stock (PSX) $64.64 -2.46%
Sl Green Realty Corp. (SLG) $68.86 -2.34%
Ford Motor Co. (F) $12.41 -2.04%
Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG) $66.61 -1.87%
Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) $59.21 -1.72%
Deere & Co. (DE) $352.94 -1.68%
Ventas Inc. (VTR) $53.74 -1.53%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $18.45 -1.49%
Macy's Inc. (M) $21.30 -1.43%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

JD.com, Inc. (JD) $65.00 4.51%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $141.11 2.75%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $203.23 2.65%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $80.94 2.56%
Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $482.16 2.51%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $303.90 2.40%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $669.41 2.10%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $144.92 1.69%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $72.88 1.69%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $235.60 1.60%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $120.94 -4.46%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $18.45 -1.49%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $571.27 -1.02%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $128.02 -0.91%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $129.44 -0.63%
NortonLifeLock Inc. (NLOK) $25.68 -0.58%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $80.02 -0.44%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $88.40 -0.32%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $36.72 -0.30%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $10.34 -0.29%