US open: Stocks open mixed on last day of September trading

Wall Street stocks were mixed early on Thursday as major indices prepared to wrap up a losing month.

As of 1530 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.04% at 34,378.61, while the S&P 500 was 0.23% higher at 4,369.69 and the Nasdaq Composite started out the session 0.56% firmer at 14,593.46.

The Dow opened 12.11 points lower on Thursday, taking a bite out of yesterday's gains.

Sentiment got a boost after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the chamber had struck a deal to bypass a government shutdown, with Schumer stating he would organise a vote on for a stopgap measure to keep the government running into early December on Thursday. However, the deal would still need to make its way through the House.

Also in focus, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was slightly higher at around 1.529% before the bell on Thursday, while the 30-year note was also a touch stronger at 2.081%

Market participants will also be keeping a keen eye on Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, who began testifying in front of the House Financial Services Committee at 1500 BST alongside Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

On the macro front, economic growth in the US accelerated in the second quarter as pandemic relief money underpinned consumer spending. According to the Commerce Department, gross domestic product rose at an annualised pace of 6.7% in the April to June quarter, up from a previous estimate of 6.6% growth, and 0.9% higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Elsewhere, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose in the week ended 25 September, up 11,000 from the previous week's unrevised level to 362,000, driven by a surge in claims in California, according to the Labor Department. The four-week moving average increased 4,250 from the previous week's unrevised level to 340,000, while continuing claims, which are a week behind the headline number, rose 131,000 to 2.84m.

Lastly, the Chicago purchasing managers index dropped to 64.7 in September from 66.8 a month earlier, worse than consensus estimates of 65 and indicating a further deterioration in business conditions.

In the corporate space, Bed Bath & Beyond tanked after the retailer downgraded its full-year earnings and sales outlook and reported second-quarter revenues had slumped 26% year-on-year to $1.99bn, missing expectations of $2.06bn.