US open: Stocks edge up amid conflicting headlines on debt ceiling talks

Wall Street's main market gauges were little changed in early trading as investors kept a close eye on the conflicting headlines around the debt ceiling talks on Capitol Hill.

As of 1607 BST the Dow Jones Industrials was edging up 0.03% to 33,310.28, alongside a 0.04% rise for the S&P 500 to 4,125.74.

The Nasdaq Composite meanwhile was up by 0.19% to 12,308.41.

Speaking overnight, Lael Brainard, the head of the US National Economic Council, said that the negotiations thus far had been "serious" and "constructive", even as she added that a debt default would be "catastrophic" for the economy.

In a further boost for sentiment, it was reported that President Joe Biden would meet the Republican speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, on Tuesday, for direct talks.

But according to McCarthy on Monday, "they are not talking anything serious. It seems more like they want a default than a deal."

In other economic news, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's regional factory index dropped sharply, from a reading of 10.8 for April to -31.8 in May (consensus: -4.0).

However, according to Kieran Clancy at Pantheon Macroeconomics, while "still not good", the index's drop was "more noise than signal".

Fedspeak was also in focus with Atlanta Fed boss, Raphael Bostic, arguing for a pause in rate hikes, although he added that if he had to choose then the next move in rates would be up.

Chicago Fed chief Austan Goolsbee meanwhile said his decision to go along with the last rate hike had been a close call.

Sarepta Therapeutics was a standout gainer ahead of the open after the Food and Drug Administration narrowly backed accelerated approval of its therapy against the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

The shares were climbing 28%.

NRG Energy was up 1% after activist investor Elliot disclosed a $1bn stake in the company and called for a strategic review of its Vivint unit.

Dow Jones - Risers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $204.24 1.20%
American Express Co. (AXP) $149.15 0.82%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $157.84 0.78%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $29.16 0.73%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $210.90 0.65%
Boeing Co. (BA) $202.00 0.65%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $321.40 0.59%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $134.71 0.45%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $46.91 0.43%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $309.62 0.21%