PARIS, Oct 6 (Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange opened higher on Thursday but the trend remains cautious on the eve of the publication of the monthly U.S. jobs report which could provide investors with clues on the future path of rates of interest.
About fifteen minutes after the first exchanges, the Dow Jones index gained 45.5 points, or 0.15%, to 30,319.37 points and the wider Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 0.36% to 3,797, 13 stitches.
The Nasdaq Composite took 0.73%, or 81.62 points, to 11,230.26.
The CBOE index measuring volatility, considered a reliable barometer of fear, advanced 1.36% to 28.97 points.
As U.S. jobless claims rose last week to 219,000 from 190,000 (revised), investors are mostly looking to the Labor Department’s September report on job creations, the unemployment rate and wages to be released Friday at 12:30 GMT.
“Everyone is waiting for the jobs report which will give us a bit of an idea of where the economy is going,” said Hugh Johnson, chief economist at Hugh Johnson Economics.
The Reuters consensus on this report forecasts a drop in job creations to 250,000, a stable unemployment rate at 3.7% and a slight slowdown in the rise in average wages to 5.1% over one year.
Money markets are currently pricing in an 80% chance of a 75 basis point rate hike from the US Federal Reserve (Fed) in November, a sustained pace that could trigger a hard landing for the economy.
Goldman Sachs said in a note that fears of an impending recession should weigh on business investment and job creation.
In values, Twitter drops 1.18%. According to several sources familiar with the matter, Apollo Global Management and Sixth Street Partners, which planned to participate in the financing of the offer to purchase Elon Musk, have ended discussions.
Ford fell 0.72% after the group announced an 11% price hike for its F-150 electric pickup due to supply chain tensions and high inflation.
On the upside, Apple took 0.58% and Alphabet 1.47% as bond yields paused.