US open: Dow Jones reclaims some of yesterday's losses

dl wall street st new york city nyc nyse stock exchange ny dow jones nasdaq sp finance us usa united states of america — Wall StreetSharecast photo / Josh White

Wall Street stocks were in the green early on Thursday after registering some heavy losses in the previous session.

As of 1545 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.64% at 37,319.36, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.78% to 4,735.11 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.88% firmer at 14,907.76.

The Dow opened 237.36 points higher on Thursday, reclaiming some of the previous session's losses.

Yesterday's losses came as investors indulged in a little bit of profit-taking, leading to the worst single-day drop since October and snapping the blue-chip's winning streak at nine-straight sessions.

In focus early on Thursday, Treasury yields continued to fall from recent highs, with the benchmark ten-year note hitting its lowest level since July and sitting at below 3.85%.

On the macro front, the US economy grew less than previously estimated in the third quarter, according to figures released on Thursday by the Commerce Department. GDP for July to September was revised down to 4.9% from 5.2% in the second estimate. Economists were expecting growth to be unrevised.

Elsewhere, Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at an accelerated clip in the week ended 16 December but remained near the previous week's two-month low. According to the Labor Department, initial jobless claims rose by 2,000 to 205,000 last week, well below consensus expectations of 215,000 and underscoring relative tightness in the US labour market.

Continuing claims fell by 1,000 in the first week of December to 1.86m, firmly below market expectations of 1,88m, while the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, fell by 1,500 to 212,000.

On another note, the downturn in manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region worsened more than expected in December, according to the Philadelphia Federal Reserve. The Manufacturing Business Outlook Survey found that the current general activity index dropped to -10.5 this month, from -5.9 in November. This was the index's 17th reading below zero in the past 19 months and significantly below the -3.0 level expected by economists.

Still to come, the Kansas Federal Reserve's manufacturing activity index will be published at 1600 GMT.

In the corporate space, Micron shares traded higher in early trade after beating Wall Street expectations with its first-quarter numbers, while Salesforce got a boost from an upgrade by analysts at Morgan Stanley.

Still to come, sportswear giant Nike will report its latest set of earnings after the close of trading.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $25.99 2.32%
American Express Co. (AXP) $184.54 2.15%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $265.06 1.85%
3M Co. (MMM) $105.01 1.29%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $278.59 1.24%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $46.32 1.22%
Visa Inc. (V) $259.49 0.93%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $106.32 0.91%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $154.63 0.89%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $519.62 0.71%