US open: Stocks trade higher following PPI reading

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 trading got off to a positive start on Thursday as traders digested yet another key inflation report.

As of 1525 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.35% at 33,765.23, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.64% to 4,117.94 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 1.34% firmer at 12,089.71.

The Dow opened 118.73 points higher on Thursday, reversing losses recorded in the previous session after minutes from the FOMC's most recent meeting revealed the Fed expects the recent banking crisis to bring about a recession later in the year.

Thursday's primary focus was on March's producer price index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which revealed producer prices in the US fell unexpectedly amid declines in energy and services prices. In seasonally adjusted terms, so-called final demand prices were down by 0.5% month-on-month in March. Economists had forecast no change in prices in comparison to February.

Final demand goods prices declined by 1.0%, dragged lower by a 6.4% drop in energy costs, while food inflation came in at 0.6% over the month. In year-on-year terms, the rate of increase in total final demand prices dropped from 4.9% to 2.7%. The reading comes just 24 hours after last month's consumer price index report showed headline pressures had slowed last month, with headline CPI advancing just 0.1% month-on-month.

Elsewhere on the macro front, the Labor Department revealed the US labour market eased a bit more during the week ended 8 April. In seasonally adjusted terms, initial unemployment claims rose by 11,000 over the week to reach 239,000. Economists had forecast an increase from the prior week's preliminary estimate of 228,000 to 235,000. The four-week moving average of first-time claims increased by 2,250 to reach 240,000.

In the corporate space, Delta Air Lines posted record summer travel bookings on Thursday as it forecast full-year profits while also unveiling a quarterly loss.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $163.19 1.93%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $99.39 1.48%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $286.56 1.08%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $124.68 0.82%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $191.83 0.79%
Visa Inc. (V) $229.47 0.73%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $524.28 0.59%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $286.95 0.58%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $170.67 0.50%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $114.28 0.46%