Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened mixed to higher on Thursday, supported by growing expectations for the Federal Reserve to delay the scaling back of its bond-buying program, while investors eyed a fresh string of earnings reports.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.27%, the S&P 500 index inched 0.03% higher, while the Nasdaq Composite index dipped 0.01%.
The U.S. Department of Labor said earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits declined by 12,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 350,000. Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 22,000 to 340,000 last week.
The disappointing data underlined expectations that the Fed will delay tapering its stimulus program until next year amid concerns over the impact of the 16-day U.S. government shutdown on the economic recovery.
Global equities strengthened earlier, after the preliminary reading of China’s HSBC manufacturing index for October rose to a seven-month high of 50.9, up from a final reading of 50.2 in September. Economists had expected the index to tick up to 50.5.
The data offset fears over the Chinese economy, a day after market sentiment was hit by concerns that China’s central bank would tighten monetary policy to help control inflation.
Financial stocks were active after Morgan Stanley, up 0.45%, and Bank of America, down 0.42%, said the days of paying big bonuses to lure each other’s brokers and keep their own in place may be ending.
Separately, on Thursday, Bank of America's Countrywide unit was found liable by a jury for selling Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac thousands of defective loans in the first mortgage-fraud case brought by the U.S. government to go to trial.
In the tech sector, Apple shares slipped 0.21% even as billionaire Carl Icahn asked the tech giant to begin an immediate tender offer in a letter to CEO Tim Cook.
Hewlett-Packard climbed 0.80% amid reports the company is seeking buyers for some of its mobile-computing patents, in an effort to bolster its financial position.
Elsewhere, Boston Scientific saw shares plunge 2.52% after the maker of heart devices announced plans to eliminate an additional 1,100 to 1,500 jobs through 2015 as part of a new restructuring program.
In earnings news, Ford beat estimates and raised its guidance for the full year, sending shares up 2%, while 3M gained 0.90% after the conglomerate topped earnings and revenue estimates.
Other stocks likely to be in focus included Amazon.com, Microsoft, Western Digital and Zynga, scheduled to report quarterly earnings later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.53%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.10%, Germany's DAX gained 0.53%, while Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.54%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.71%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index advanced 0.42%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on new home sales.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.27%, the S&P 500 index inched 0.03% higher, while the Nasdaq Composite index dipped 0.01%.
The U.S. Department of Labor said earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits declined by 12,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 350,000. Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to fall by 22,000 to 340,000 last week.
The disappointing data underlined expectations that the Fed will delay tapering its stimulus program until next year amid concerns over the impact of the 16-day U.S. government shutdown on the economic recovery.
Global equities strengthened earlier, after the preliminary reading of China’s HSBC manufacturing index for October rose to a seven-month high of 50.9, up from a final reading of 50.2 in September. Economists had expected the index to tick up to 50.5.
The data offset fears over the Chinese economy, a day after market sentiment was hit by concerns that China’s central bank would tighten monetary policy to help control inflation.
Financial stocks were active after Morgan Stanley, up 0.45%, and Bank of America, down 0.42%, said the days of paying big bonuses to lure each other’s brokers and keep their own in place may be ending.
Separately, on Thursday, Bank of America's Countrywide unit was found liable by a jury for selling Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac thousands of defective loans in the first mortgage-fraud case brought by the U.S. government to go to trial.
In the tech sector, Apple shares slipped 0.21% even as billionaire Carl Icahn asked the tech giant to begin an immediate tender offer in a letter to CEO Tim Cook.
Hewlett-Packard climbed 0.80% amid reports the company is seeking buyers for some of its mobile-computing patents, in an effort to bolster its financial position.
Elsewhere, Boston Scientific saw shares plunge 2.52% after the maker of heart devices announced plans to eliminate an additional 1,100 to 1,500 jobs through 2015 as part of a new restructuring program.
In earnings news, Ford beat estimates and raised its guidance for the full year, sending shares up 2%, while 3M gained 0.90% after the conglomerate topped earnings and revenue estimates.
Other stocks likely to be in focus included Amazon.com, Microsoft, Western Digital and Zynga, scheduled to report quarterly earnings later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.53%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.10%, Germany's DAX gained 0.53%, while Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.54%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.71%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index advanced 0.42%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on new home sales.