US open: Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan pace gains on Dow, Nasdaq slips

Wall Street's main stock market indices were trading in decidedly mixed fashion following the release of slightly weaker-than-expected economic data.

As of 1411 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrials was trading 0.85% or 313.41 points higher to 36,894.33 with shares of Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan pacing gains.

In parallel however, the Nasdaq Composite was dipping by 0.48% or 82.38 points to 15,750.50.

Front month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were up by 1.01% to $76.90 a barrel despite OPEC+'s decision to raise its combined output by 0.4m b/d starting from February, as expected.

Benchmark 10-year US Treasury note yields were also advancing, grinding four basis points higher to 1.67%, although the US dollar was off its best levels and last trading up by just 0.05% at 96.26.

The Institute for Supply Management's factory sector Purchasing Managers' Index slipped from November's print of 61.1 to 58.7 in December (Barclays: 61.0), amid a big drop in the sub-index tracking the prices paid by firms from 82.4 to 68.2.

For its part, the US Department of Labor's JOLTS labour market survey revealed a drop in the number of job openings from 11.09m in October to 10.56m in November.

Over the preceding days, several well-known analysts had forecast a correction for US stocks over the course of 2022.

But Mislav Matejka at JP Morgan was not among them.

In a research note sent to clients, the strategist wrote: "We believe there is further upside for stocks, despite a strong run so far, and argued in our December Chartbook that the dip driven by the Omicron scare should be bought into.

"The new variant is proving to be milder than prior ones, and the adverse impact on mobility much more manageable."