US open: Stocks higher despite weaker-than-expected jobless claims report
Wall Street stocks opened higher on Thursday as investors thumbed over some weaker-than-expected jobless figures and stimulus headlines remained in focus.
As of 1530 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.32% at 28,393.28, while the S&P 500 was 0.57% firmer at 3,4388.88 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.45% stronger at 11,416.12.
The Dow opened 89.82 points higher on Thursday, extending gains recorded by the blue-hip index in the previous session, its best in months, amid conflicting messages from the President regarding his stance on further economic stimulus payments.
Thursday's main focus was this week's jobless claims data from the Labor Department which revealed initial jobless claims fell from a revised print of 849,000 to 840,000 in the week ended 3 October, shy of expectations for a reading of 825,000. The reading marked the sixth straight week that saw claims hover at around 800,000, indicating a potential slowdown in the US labour market recovery.
On the other hand, continuing claims dropped by just over 1.0m to hit 10.98m.
Renewed optimism around stimulus talks was also buoyed sentiment before the open as Donald Trump said he was in favour of a $25.0nm relief package for the embattled airline industry and a $1,200 cheque for Americans.
Trump said on Thursday that the White House and the Democratic Party were "starting to have some very productive talks" on the topic.
Besides the jobless claims data, it will be light on the macro front on Thursday, with the only other things of note being speeches from Federal Reserve presidents Thomas Barkin and Robert Kaplan at 1930 BST and 2300 BST, respectively.
In the corporate space, pharmaceutical group Regeneron has applied for an emergency use authorisation from the Food and Drug Administration for the experimental monoclonal antibody therapy that was given to Donald Trump just last week.
Dominos's Pizza reported that sales had surged amid the Covid-19 pandemic but that it had also fallen short of earnings estimates as a result to increased costs associated with the coronavirus.