NEW YORK, Sept 9 — Wall Street stocks edged higher early today following better US employment data and as the European Central Bank slowed stimulus purchases in light of the eurozone economic recovery.
First-time jobless claims fell 35,000 to 310,000 last week, seasonally adjusted, the Labor Department said, hitting a new pandemic low for the second straight week and putting them closer to their level before Covid-19 broke out.
Meanwhile, the ECB said it would slow the pace of its massive monthly bond purchases as it lifted its 2021 growth forecast following better-than-expected second-quarter growth.
About 25 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones industrial Average was up 0.2 per cent at 35,105.86.
The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.2 per cent to 4,524.11, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.3 per cent at 15,329.41.
Markets have been choppy in recent sessions as investors weigh the fallout from the latest uptick in Covid-19 cases.
Gregori Volokhine of Meeschaert Financial Services said stocks are in a waiting game ahead of the Federal Reserve’s meeting later in September, with Congress yet to take final action on President Joe Biden’s massive infrastructure plan.
“It’s a market in need of a catalyst,” Volokhine said.
Major US carriers such as American Airlines and United Airlines were up around one per cent despite warning of lower third-quarter sales due to the latest Covid-19 wave. However, analysts said the downcast company statements had been expected. — AFP
