US stocks edged up on Thursday, as investors weighed a flood of corporate earnings and more labor market data.
At 9:45 a.m. ET (14:45 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 40 points, or 0.1%, the S&P 500 was up 11 points, or 0.2%, and the NASDAQ Composite was up 25 points, or 0.1%.
The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits edged up more than expected last week, consistent with a slowing labor market.
Initial jobless claims came in at 219,000 in the week ended Feb. 1. The previous week's figure was revised up slightly by 1,000 to 208,000, while economists had expected a reading of 214,000.
The data comes ahead of Friday's release of the all-important nonfarm payrolls report for January, which should provide a glimpse into labor demand that Federal Reserve policymakers are closely watching. Economists expect the U.S. economy added 169,000 jobs last month, down from 256,000 in December.
Earlier this week, separate data showed that private payrolls rose in January, while job openings fell by the most in 14 months. Still, resilient hiring and a relatively low rate of layoffs have suggested that the labor market is not entering a sudden downturn, strengthening the case for the Fed to leave interest rates unchanged at least through June.(Newsmaker23)
Source: Investing.com
US stocks closed sharply higher on a triple-witching Friday, with the S&P 500 rising 0,9%, the Nasdaq 100 gaining 1.4%, and the Dow Jones adding more than 180 points, extending gains from the prev...
European equities closed higher on Friday, with the STOXX 50 up 0.6% and the STOXX 600 rising 0.4% to a fresh record, boosted by expectations of further Fed rate cuts next year and fading bets that th...
European stocks opened mixed on Friday (December 19th), as investors digested a number of interest rate decisions and awaited crucial budget talks in France. Regional investors were shaken by a day f...
Asia-Pacific stock markets opened higher on Friday, as investors awaited a key decision from the Bank of Japan (BOJ). Markets expect the BOJ to raise interest rates to 0.75%, the highest level since 1...
US stocks rose on Thursday, with the S&P 500 gaining 0.8%, the Nasdaq climbing 1.4%, and the Dow Jones adding about 66 points, after latest data showed inflation rate unexpectedly decreased. The a...
US stocks closed sharply higher on a triple-witching Friday, with the S&P 500 rising 0,9%, the Nasdaq 100 gaining 1.4%, and the Dow Jones adding more than 180 points, extending gains from the previous session as technology stocks...
European equities closed higher on Friday, with the STOXX 50 up 0.6% and the STOXX 600 rising 0.4% to a fresh record, boosted by expectations of further Fed rate cuts next year and fading bets that the ECB will raise borrowing costs in...
Gold (XAU/USD) Gold (XAU/USD) regains ground on Friday, edging modestly higher after earlier weakness, even as a resilient US Dollar (USD) caps upside momentum. At the time of writing, XAU/USD trades around $4,345, recovering from a daily low near...
Fed Governor Christopher Waller said Wednesday that the Fed is in no rush to cut interest rates, given the current outlook, according to...
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is expected to raise interest rates on Friday to a three-decade high, from 0.5% to 0.75%, signaling readiness for further...
European stocks finished in positive territory on Thursday as traders positioned for central bank decisions today.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was...
The United States ordered a blockade of Venezuelan oil tankers because the Trump administration believes President Nicolás Maduro's regime is acting...