Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened sharply higher on Thursday, as investors awaited comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for signs of new stimulus measures, while a surprise rate cut by China’s central bank boosted risk sentiment.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.93%, the S&P 500 index jumped 0.96%, while the Nasdaq Composite index gained 0.71%.
Sentiment broadly strengthened after the People's Bank of China said it will lower benchmark interest rates by 0.25%, effective Friday, in a bid to bolster growth in the world’s second largest economy and alleviate the effects of the global economic slowdown.
Meanwhile, investors were looking ahead to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s testimony on the U.S. economic outlook before a congressional committee in Washington later in the day, amid speculation that the U.S. central bank is mulling new measures to stimulate growth.
On Wednesday, the central bank’s Vice-Chairman Janet Yellen laid out the case for more easing to bolster a fragile economy as financial turmoil mounts in the euro zone.
In the tech sector, Apple saw shares rise 0.62% amid reports it is planning to add Baidu’s search engine – China’s biggest Internet search engine – on iPhones in China.
Meanwhile, computer technology firm Oracle added 0.20% after launching a new suite of cloud-based products on Wednesday to try to catch up with smaller but nimbler vendors, such as Salesforce.com, in the business of hosting and distributing software via the Internet.
Financial stocks were also broadly higher, as shares in Citigroup surged 2.54% and Bank of America climbed 1.57%, while JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs rallied 1.39% and 1.05% respectively.
Morgan Stanley was also up 0.93%. Bloomberg reported earlier that, despite being the best-capitalized Wall Street firm, the financial services group still faces the largest potential downgrade from Moody’s Investors Service.
Chesapeake also added to gains, as shares jumped 1.26% after a federal judge said it will not have to delay its scheduled annual meeting on Friday to allow shareholders more time to investigate the financial dealings of the natural gas company's embattled chief executive.
Other energy stocks were close behind. Exxon Mobil saw shares advance 0.86% and Chevron soared 1.91%.
Elsewhere, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters gained 1.47% as the company was reportedly in talks with pharmaceutical companies about developing drinks for its Keurig brewers that it hopes could aid the health of consumers and company margins.
On the downside, Lululemon Athletica slumped 8.65% after the yoga-apparel retailer posted higher quarterly profit, but said same-store sales growth would slow.
Also in earnings, Men's Wearhouse plunged 15.10% after the men's clothing retailer posted quarterly results that missed estimates and projected weak earnings in the upcoming quarter.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 rallied 1.42%, France’s CAC 40 jumped 1.42%, Germany's DAX surged 2.18%, while Britain's FTSE 100 gained 1.94%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.85%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.24%.
Also Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending June 2 fell by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 377,000, in line with expectations.
Later in the day, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was to appear before the Joint Economic Committee, in Washington.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.93%, the S&P 500 index jumped 0.96%, while the Nasdaq Composite index gained 0.71%.
Sentiment broadly strengthened after the People's Bank of China said it will lower benchmark interest rates by 0.25%, effective Friday, in a bid to bolster growth in the world’s second largest economy and alleviate the effects of the global economic slowdown.
Meanwhile, investors were looking ahead to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s testimony on the U.S. economic outlook before a congressional committee in Washington later in the day, amid speculation that the U.S. central bank is mulling new measures to stimulate growth.
On Wednesday, the central bank’s Vice-Chairman Janet Yellen laid out the case for more easing to bolster a fragile economy as financial turmoil mounts in the euro zone.
In the tech sector, Apple saw shares rise 0.62% amid reports it is planning to add Baidu’s search engine – China’s biggest Internet search engine – on iPhones in China.
Meanwhile, computer technology firm Oracle added 0.20% after launching a new suite of cloud-based products on Wednesday to try to catch up with smaller but nimbler vendors, such as Salesforce.com, in the business of hosting and distributing software via the Internet.
Financial stocks were also broadly higher, as shares in Citigroup surged 2.54% and Bank of America climbed 1.57%, while JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs rallied 1.39% and 1.05% respectively.
Morgan Stanley was also up 0.93%. Bloomberg reported earlier that, despite being the best-capitalized Wall Street firm, the financial services group still faces the largest potential downgrade from Moody’s Investors Service.
Chesapeake also added to gains, as shares jumped 1.26% after a federal judge said it will not have to delay its scheduled annual meeting on Friday to allow shareholders more time to investigate the financial dealings of the natural gas company's embattled chief executive.
Other energy stocks were close behind. Exxon Mobil saw shares advance 0.86% and Chevron soared 1.91%.
Elsewhere, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters gained 1.47% as the company was reportedly in talks with pharmaceutical companies about developing drinks for its Keurig brewers that it hopes could aid the health of consumers and company margins.
On the downside, Lululemon Athletica slumped 8.65% after the yoga-apparel retailer posted higher quarterly profit, but said same-store sales growth would slow.
Also in earnings, Men's Wearhouse plunged 15.10% after the men's clothing retailer posted quarterly results that missed estimates and projected weak earnings in the upcoming quarter.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 rallied 1.42%, France’s CAC 40 jumped 1.42%, Germany's DAX surged 2.18%, while Britain's FTSE 100 gained 1.94%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.85%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.24%.
Also Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending June 2 fell by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 377,000, in line with expectations.
Later in the day, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was to appear before the Joint Economic Committee, in Washington.