(Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange opened higher on Thursday as easing concerns over banks allowed investors to focus on several economic indicators, including those of inflation, which could allow a pause in the rise Federal Reserve rates.
In early trading, the Dow Jones index gained 174.73 points, or 0.53%, to 32,892.33 points and the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 0.61% to 4,052.50 points.
The Nasdaq Composite took 0.69%, or 82.71 points, to 12,008.95.
The turmoil in the banking sector since early March has raised concerns about a broader financial crisis and led markets to reassess expectations of US central bank monetary tightening.
Investors are notably awaiting the publication on Friday of the PCE price index for the month of February, the measure of inflation favored by the Fed, which should provide additional indications on the path of rates.
Traders are banking on a pause in the rise in the cost of silver in May.
“The data we’re starting to see looks less rosy and while inflation is painfully coming down, it’s moving in the right direction,” said Stuart Cole, chief macroeconomist at Equiti Capital.
U.S. jobless claims rose last week to 198,000, a higher-than-expected figure, suggesting a cooling labor market.
Fourth-quarter U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) growth was also revised down slightly to 2.6% from an earlier estimate of 2.7% that economists polled by Reuters had expected to see confirmed. .
Boston and Minneapolis Fed Presidents Susan Collins and Neel Kashkari are scheduled to speak later in the day.
In values, Faraday Future gained 4.3%, the group having started production of its first luxury electric car after a delay of several months.
Streaming platform Roku gains 2.2% after announcing plans to cut around 200 jobs, while Kohl’s Corp advances 7.8% after its chief executive Thomas Kingsbury bought shares in the group for a total value of over of $2 million.
Broker Charles Schwab dropped 2.7%, penalized by the lowering of Morgan Stanley’s recommendation from “overweight” to “line weight”.
(Written by Diana Mandiá, Editing by Kate Entringer)
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