US open: Stocks go green as trade talks commence in Washington
US stocks turned green on Thursday as investors continued to react to the Federal Reserve's latest policy announcement and got hopeful about trade talks between US and Chinese officials in Washington.
As of 1540 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.37% at 27,248.15, while the S&P 500 was ahead 0.45% at 3,020.36 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.66% stronger at 8,231.39.
The Dow opened 101.07 points higher on Thursday after stocks closed on a mixed note on Wednesday following a cut to the US central bank's main policy rate by a further 25 basis points. Several top officials also indicated that it would need to be lowered again before the year was out.
In his post-meeting press conference, Fed chairman Jerome Powell said that the central bank was prepared to move "forcefully" if necessary.
Market participants were also keeping a keen eye on a new round of face-to-face talks between Chinese and US officials in Washington.
The two-day talks will focus on preparing for high-level talks early next month which will determine whether or not Washington and Beijing can move forward with a deal or be forced to resume the ongoing game of tit-for-tariff between the two.
On the data front, manufacturing sector activity in the US mid-Atlantic region remained stronger than expected in September, but that resilience was likely to soon be tested and should not be extrapolated to the remainder of the country, economists said.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's headline factory sector index slipped from August's level of 16.8 to 12.0 (consensus: 10.8).
Elsewhere, the number of Americans lining up for unemployment benefits increased less than expected last week, indicating strong labour market conditions.
Initial jobless claims rose 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 208,000 for the week ended 14 September, according to the Labor Department, while data for the prior week was revised to show 2,000 more applications received than previously thought.
Lastly, US home sales unexpectedly jumped to a 17-month high last month, marking a second straight month of gains.
The National Association of Realtors revealed that existing home sales increased 1.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.49m units in August, yet another sign that lower mortgage rates were encouraging buyers. July's sales pace was unchanged at 5.42m.
In corporate news, shares in software behemoth Microsoft advanced more than 2% in early trade after authorising a further $40bn in share buybacks and raising its quarterly dividend to $0.51 per share.
Also, the prospect of progress between China and the US buoyed shares in technology companies across the board, with Advanced Micro Devices up 1.3% at the bell and Micron up 0.6%.