US open: Dow tries to shake off two-day losing streak

dl wall street wall st new york city new york stock exchange nyse dow jones nasdaq street sign nyc united states usa america pb — Sharecast / Alessandro D Andrea via Pixabay

Wall Street stocks were in the green early on Wednesday as the blue-chip Dow Jones tried to recover from two straight losing sessions.

As of 1600 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.10% at 36,160.09, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.13% to 4,573.10 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 0.20% firmer at 14,258.34.

The Dow opened 35.53 points higher on Wednesday, taking a bite out of losses recorded in the previous session.

The Bank of Canada was in focus early on Wednesday after the central bank decided to keep its policy rate unchanged at 5% for a third consecutive meeting. However, the neighbouring bank acknowledged that there was evidence that the economy was no longer experiencing excess demand. The decision comes just one week before the US Federal Reserve meets for one final time this year.

On the macro front, private payrolls grew by 103,000 in November, according to payrolls processing firm ADP, below October's downwardly revised reading of 106,000 and short of the 128,000 predicted by economists. Along with the modest job growth came a 5.6% increase in annual pay, the smallest gain seen since September 2021, positive news for the Federal Reserve in its fight against inflation. However, the increase in productivity indicated the potential for the economy to skirt a recession. Private payroll data from ADP offered the latest indication that the job market, long considered a pain point for the Federal Reserve, was easing.

Elsewhere, mortgage applications rose 2.8% in the week ended 1 December, with refinancing applications jumping 13.9% amid sliding interest rates, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Refinancing applications were also 10% higher year-on-year. The increase comes as the average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances fell to 7.17% from 7.37% - the lowest level seen since August. New mortgage applications were down 0.3% on the week.

In the corporate space, Box was under pressure in early trading after reporting third-quarter results that came in below expectations, while Toll Brothers traded higher after exceeding expectations on both the top and bottom lines.

Trade bellwether Caterpillar and aerospace giant Boeing both flew higher in early trade.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $21.35 4.12%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $260.00 1.88%
Boeing Co. (BA) $238.57 1.88%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $92.10 1.44%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $327.91 1.36%
3M Co. (MMM) $102.83 1.12%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $345.58 1.12%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $51.58 0.85%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $116.22 0.70%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $252.59 0.63%