US close: Markets move higher amid deluge of data

Wall Street trading finished Thursday in the green as investors digested news of the Fed's third interest rate hike this year, and leafed through a tsunami of economic reports, including an update to the nation's second-quarter GDP.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session up 0.21% at 26,439.93, the S&P 500 was ahead 0.28% at 2,914.00, and the Nasdaq 100 managed gains of 0.88% to 7,629.57.

Stocks moved higher on Wednesday too, as traders welcomed the Fed's decision to stop describing its policy stance as "accommodative", even as it hiked the target range for the Fed funds rate by 25 basis points to between 2.0% and 2.25%.

However, stocks slipped in the last 30 minutes of trading, after Powell explained that that wasn't meant as a signal.

“In what has so far been a disappointing reversal following last Friday's record peak, the Dow Jones attempted to buck the week’s downward trajectory after the bell, pushing back towards 26,450 as it rose 50 points,” said SpreadEx analyst Connor Campbell earlier.

“Granted, that is not a huge move higher, and leaves it around 300 points shy of the levels struck just over a week ago; however, given it is less than 24 hours after the Fed’s interest rate rise and December hike-suggesting statement, it's a decent enough start.”

Elsewhere, trade concerns also remained on investors' minds after Chinese officials took aim at Donald Trump earlier in the week, accusing him of "trade bullyism" and a racist "America First" agenda that came at the cost of international relations.

Investors also spent much of the day with one eye on a Senate hearing of Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who is facing allegations of sexual misconduct.

On the data front, initial jobless claims for the week ending on 22 September increased by 12,000 to 214,000, according to the Department of Labor.

Economists had forecast 205,000.

The very closely-followed indicator of the health of the US labour market surprised slightly as economists had forecast 205,000.

However, analysts had cautioned that recent hurricanes could potentially lead to upwards distortions in the figures.

Elsewhere, demand for long-lasting goods produced by US manufacturers increased last month as a result of aircraft orders taking off.

The Commerce Department revealed that orders for durable goods, which reflects manufactured products intended to last a minimum of three years, rose a seasonally adjusted 4.5% in August.

The improvement marked the best gain since February - well above the 2.1% improvement economists had forecast.

Also from the Commerce Department, the government body revealed that US real gross domestic product rose at a 4.2% annualised rate across the second quarter, unrevised from earlier estimates.

“Literally, when you look at the durable number and GDP it makes your jaws drop- this makes you think why investors should not be worried about the trade war,” said Think Markets'chief analyst Naeem Aslam.

“Having said this, some investors are still not convinced with this number because of the noise it carries. Hence the equity markets haven't shown much excitement.”

In corporate news, T-Mobile US shares got a 2.47% boost after analysts at Guggenheim upped the telco's target price, and Salesforce rose 1.33% after Jefferies hiked its target price on the firm.

Wayfair also picked up 2.75% following an increase to its target price over at MKM Partners.

Carnival shares sunk 4.84% after a weak fourth-quarter guidance

Geron plummeted 62.92% after its collaboration deal with Janssen was aborted, and Bed Bath & Beyond tumbled 21% after its earnings and revenues missed expectations on the Street.

Dow Jones - Risers

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $116.04 2.12%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $224.95 2.06%
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) $151.50 1.74%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $73.81 1.17%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $84.54 1.00%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $53.59 0.85%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $264.65 0.66%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $70.72 0.54%
Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $43.90 0.50%
Visa Inc. (V) $150.02 0.50%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $65.33 -3.86%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $227.74 -2.05%
American Express Co. (AXP) $107.84 -1.85%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $152.47 -1.05%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $122.47 -0.73%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $94.16 -0.49%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $82.86 -0.48%
3M Co. (MMM) $210.11 -0.45%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $114.52 -0.43%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $206.87 -0.30%

S&P 500 - Risers

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $406.00 3.70%
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) $28.37 3.43%
Endo International Plc (ENDP) $16.70 3.41%
Range Resources Corp. (RRC) $17.01 2.90%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $28.68 2.58%
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $36.47 2.50%
CIGNA Corp. (CI) $206.34 2.41%
Assurant Inc. (AIZ) $106.29 2.31%
General Electric Co. (GE) $11.53 2.31%
Newfield Exploration Co (NFX) $29.27 2.29%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) $14.86 -21.00%
ConAgra Brands Inc (CAG) $32.99 -8.90%
Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) $36.86 -5.63%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $39.38 -4.90%
EQT Corp. (EQT) $44.71 -4.73%
Carnival Corp. (CCL) $63.74 -4.29%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $13.87 -4.28%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $31.27 -3.89%
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) $4.46 -3.46%
Stericycle Inc. (SRCL) $58.41 -3.20%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $406.00 3.70%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $340.08 2.82%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $70.49 2.47%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $69.04 2.40%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $224.95 2.06%
Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $79.90 2.03%
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ALXN) $138.27 1.96%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $2,012.98 1.93%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $137.07 1.89%
Marriott International - Class A (MAR) $133.42 1.86%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $82.08 -2.70%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $118.45 -2.18%
Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $128.94 -2.07%
Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $197.59 -1.77%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $58.28 -1.12%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $46.57 -1.06%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $88.99 -0.96%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $40.75 -0.73%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $33.34 -0.71%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $307.52 -0.67%