Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday, after the release
of upbeat U.S. jobless claims data and as investors turned to the
highly-anticipated nonfarm payrolls report to be released on Friday, as
well as the beginning of fourth-quarter earnings season.
U.S. stocks open higher after upbeat data
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.28%,
the S&P 500 index added 0.27%, while the Nasdaq Composite index
gained 0.25%.
The Labor Department said the number of people
who filed for unemployment assistance last week fell by 15,000 to
330,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 345,000. Economists
had expected jobless claims to decline by 10,000.
Commodity Tips Separately,
Wednesday’s minutes of the Federal Reserve's December meeting showed
that the bank cited a stronger labor market in its decision to cut its
asset purchase program by USD10 billion, reducing it to USD75
billion-a-month.
The minutes also showed that officials were keen
to stress that further reductions were not on a “preset course” and
would be undertaken in “measured” steps.
Alcoa, up 0.37%, was
expected in focus as the aluminum procuder was set to kick-off
fourth-quarter earnings season later in the day.
Separately,
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged the company with
violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, saying its "subsidiaries
repeatedly paid bribes to government officials in Bahrain."
Alcoa reportedly agreed to pay USD384 million to settle the SEC charges
and a separate case announced by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Adding to gains, Costco shares rallied 1.80% after the U.S.'s second
largest retailer reported December sales that beat expectations, thanks
to online successes in the U.S. and Canada.
Intraday Tips In the
pharmaceutical sector, Novartis was said to be in talks with Merck &
Co. to trade its animal-health and human vaccines businesses for the
U.S. drugmaker’s over-the-counter health-products unit.
The news sent Merck shares up 0.36% at the open of the U.S. trading session.
Elsewhere, Apple gained 0.45% after the tech giant and its Korean rival
Samsung Electronics reportedly agreed to attend a mediation session to
be held on or before February 19, as they prepare to battle in court in
March over smartphone patents.
Across the Atlantic, European
stock markets were mixed to higher. The EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.44%,
France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.10%, Germany's DAX edged up 0.09%, while
Britain's FTSE 100 inched 0.01% higher.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.91%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 1.50%.