US Stock Markets Today: S&P 500, Dow Jones, Nasdaq Edge Higher Amid Strong Earnings
The broader index, S&P 500, opened 0.14% higher at 5,958.67 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite opened 0.32% higher at 19,573.87 as trading commenced on Wall Street.
All three major US stock market indices opened higher on Thursday, buoyed by strong earnings and cooling inflation.
The broader index, S&P 500, opened 0.14% higher at 5,958.67, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite opened 0.32% higher at 19,573.87 as trading commenced on Wall Street.
The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average opened around 0.15% higher at 43,290.25.
US consumer inflation rose for a third straight month in December as energy prices rose, according to government data published Wednesday, adding pressure on the Federal Reserve to pause rate cuts.
US retail sales broadly advanced in December, indicating strong consumer demand to wrap up the holiday season. The value of retail purchases, not adjusted for inflation, increased 0.4% after an upwardly revised 0.8% gain in November, Commerce Department data showed Thursday. Excluding autos and gasoline, sales climbed 0.3%.
Six of the eleven sectoral indices declined, led by communication services, consumer discretionary, and materials sectors. While the energy sector, industrial sector, and equity index saw notable advances.
Among major companies, shares of Boeing Inc., Adobe Inc., Netflix Inc., JP Morgan Chase & Co., and Nvidia Corp. saw gains in early trade. On the other hand, Tesla Inc., Intel Corp., Apple Inc., and Meta Platforms Inc. saw declines.
Bank of America inched higher after the company reported an earnings and revenue beat in the prior quarter. Morgan Stanley climbed 1.9% after posting a top- and bottom-line beat in the fourth quarter on strong investment banking activity and fixed income trading revenue.
Among other asset classes, the yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds advanced one basis point to 4.67%.
The dollar spot index rose 0.2%. The euro was little changed at $1.0281, and the British pound fell 0.4% to $1.2194. The Japanese yen rose 0.3% to 155.93 per dollar.
In the commodities market, spot gold rose 0.83% to $2,718.75 an ounce. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, declined 0.41%. It was trading at $81.69 per barrel.
Bitcoin, the world's largest traded cryptocurrency, fell 1.9% to $97,776.7 after notching its biggest gain of the new year on reassuring US inflation data that lifted global markets by reviving bets on further Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts.
