US open: Stocks go green following jobless claims data
Wall Street stocks opened higher on Thursday following the release of this week's jobless claims data.
As of 1520 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.57% at 28,100.10, while the S&P 500 was 0.67% firmer at 3,421.67 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 1.30% stronger at 11,286.36.
The Dow opened 159.63 points higher on Thursday, extending gains recorded in the previous session.
Thursday's main focus was the weekly jobless claims report from the Labor Department, which revealed initial US jobless claims were unchanged over the most recent week although secondary claims did edge higher.
Initial unemployment claims for the week ending on 5 September were at 884,000, flat week-on-week and higher than expectations for a reading of 850,000. On the other hand, the four-week moving average, which aims to smooth out the variations in the data from one week to the next, dipped by 21,750 to 970,750.
Market participants also had one eye focussed across the pond on a meeting of the European Central Bank, where the bank kept all its main policy settings unchanged, as expected.
Elsewhere on the macro front, wholesale prices in the US edged up a bit more than expected in August, bolstered by a sharp increase in those for services, especially trade. According to the Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms, so-called final demand prices increased at a month-on-month pace of 0.3% (consensus: 0.2%).
Lastly, wholesale inventories in the US fell 0.3% month-on-month in July, more than initial estimates for a decline of 0.1%. Year-on-year, wholesale inventories fell 5.6%.
In corporate news, GameStop shares slumped at the bell after posting disappointing quarterly figures.
Still to come, Dave & Busters, Oracle and Zumiez will all report earnings after the bell on Thursday.
The US dollar, which hit its highest level in nearly a month in the previous session, was up 0.56% against the pound at the bell.