US open: Stocks move higher on Fed speak, China stimulus news

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Wall Street was on the up in early trading after a top Federal Reserve official hinted at a possible pause in rate hikes towards the turn of the year.

In remarks to broadcaster CNBC, Philadelphia Fed President, Patrick Harker, said he would like to see short-term interest rates reach 3.4% and to then "sit there for a while", Dow Jones Newswires reported.

Against that backdrop, as at 1546 BST, the Dow Jones Industrials was higher by 165.82 points or 0.50% to 33,131.87, while the Nasdaq Composite was ahead by 160.27 points or 1.29% to 12,591.76.

Further boosting stocks on Thursday, overnight Beijing announced a one trillion yuan fiscal stimulus plan,

A reading on initial unemployment claims for the week ending on 13 August came in better-than expected too.

Commerce revised its estimate for second quarter GDP growth from -0.9% annualised to -0.6% and Michael Pearce at Capital Economics believe further upwards were more likely than not.

Harker's comment came as investors were waiting on a potentially key speech from Federal Reserve chairman, Jerome Powell, scheduled for the next day.

All in all, over the last few weeks a smattering of better-than-expected economic data had seen market commentary shift towards expectations that in his speech, on Friday, Federal Reserve President, Jerome Powell, would make the case that rates were likely to remain higher for longer.

But there were also some observers who believed that Powell would be nuanced enough so as not to spook markets.

Shares of Nvidia were up by 3%, reversing an overnight fall after the chip-maker warned that sales in its fiscal third quarter were set to come in at around $5.9bn or around $1.0bn below the consensus, amid slowing demand for the chips used in gaming computers.

In parallel, its data center business delivered lower-than-expected sales for the company's second quarter due to ongoing supply chain disruptions.

Shares of Peloton were crumbling alongside, dropping by 20% after the maker of at-home gym equipment posted a quarterly loss of $1.2bn.

Dollar Tree wasn't faring much better with its shares off by 8% after guiding towards weaker-than-expected outcomes for its full-year earnings per share and sales.

Dow Jones - Risers

Boeing Co. (BA) $168.20 2.81%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.64 2.30%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $197.88 1.92%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $117.89 1.80%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $55.17 1.72%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $113.18 1.59%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $169.66 1.27%
American Express Co. (AXP) $161.07 1.22%
Visa Inc. (V) $208.69 0.98%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $345.26 0.97%