US open: Stocks mixed following solid gains in previous session

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street trading got off to a mixed start on Thursday following solid gains in the previous session. As of 1525 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.08% at 44,975.78, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.05% to 6,089.45 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.07% firmer at 19,748.64.

The Dow opened 38.26 points lower on Thursday, taking a small bite out of gains recorded in the previous session after Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said the US economy was now strong enough to give the central bank room to move carefully on rate cuts.

Cryptocurrencies were in focus early on Thursday, with Bitcoin trading more than 3% higher and breaking above the psychologically important $100,000 watermark for the first time in history.

On the macro front, Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at a slightly accelerated pace in the week ended 30 November, according to the Labor Department, up from 213,000 in the previous week and ahead of expectations of 215,000. Meanwhile, the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, rose by 750 to 218,250, while the non-seasonally adjusted claim count fell by 34,967 to 210,166 and outstanding claims fell by 25,000 to 1.87m.

Elsewhere, Challenger, Gray & Christmas revealed that US employers announced 57,727 job cuts in November, up from October's 55,597 print and 45,510 at the same time a year earlier for the fourth-highest November reading since 2008. For the year as a whole, companies announced 722,566 job cuts, up 5.2% from 686,860 announced through November of last year.

Finally, the US trade deficit narrowed to $73.8bn in October, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, down from an upwardly revised print of $83.8bn gap in September and better than expectations for a reading of $75.0bn. Exports declined 1.6% to $265.7bn, while imports contracted 4% to $339.6bn.

In the corporate space, shares in clothing retailer American Eagle traded lower on the back of weak forward guidance, while shares in discount retailer Five Below headed south as a result of better-than-expected Q3 earnings.

Dollar General issued upbeat guidance despite revealing Q3 earnings had fallen more than expected and Kroger topped quarterly sales estimates on the back of increased demand for fresh, cheaper groceries.

Still to come, Hewlett Packard will post its latest quarterly numbers after the close.











Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $8.74 0.00% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $94.45 0.00% International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $233.49 0.00% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $42.52 0.00% Boeing Co. (BA) $158.28 0.00% Intel Corp. (INTC) $21.96 0.00% 3M Co. (MMM) $130.45 0.00% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $62.21 0.00% Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $278.26 0.00% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $598.71 0.00%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $8.74 0.00% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $94.45 0.00% International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $233.49 0.00% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $42.52 0.00% Boeing Co. (BA) $158.28 0.00% Intel Corp. (INTC) $21.96 0.00% 3M Co. (MMM) $130.45 0.00% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $62.21 0.00% Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $278.26 0.00% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $598.71 0.00%

S&P 500 - Risers

Hilton Inc (HLT) $254.01 0.00% Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (SWK) $86.03 0.00% Chubb Corp. (CB) $284.60 0.00% Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $175.11 0.00% Nasdaq Inc (NDAQ) $80.83 0.00% Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $588.00 0.00% Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $188.30 0.00% Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $53.75 0.00% Hasbro Inc (HAS) $67.26 0.00% Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $116.99 0.00%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Hilton Inc (HLT) $254.01 0.00% Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (SWK) $86.03 0.00% Chubb Corp. (CB) $284.60 0.00% Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $175.11 0.00% Nasdaq Inc (NDAQ) $80.83 0.00% Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $588.00 0.00% Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $188.30 0.00% Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $53.75 0.00% Hasbro Inc (HAS) $67.26 0.00% Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $116.99 0.00%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $53.75 0.00% Xilinx Inc. (XLNX) $0.00 0.00% Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $42.55 0.00% Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $100.70 0.00% Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $170.56 0.00% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $8.74 0.00% Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $5.77 0.00% Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $613.78 0.00% Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $190.22 0.00% Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $754.26 0.00%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Biogen Inc (BIIB) $160.87 0.00% JD.com, Inc. (JD) $35.73 0.00% Citrix Systems Inc. (CTXS) $103.90 0.00% Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $0.00 0.00% Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $399.81 0.00% Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $73.83 0.00% Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $188.20 0.00% Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $402.12 0.00% Celgene Corp. (CELG) $0.00 0.00% Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $5,243.16 0.00%