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As investors welcomed strong profit results and kept an eye on economic data, including the Federal Reserve’s favoured inflation indicator ticking higher in July, Wall Street equities crept up early on Thursday.
US stocks rise: According to the Commerce Department, personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index increased to 3.3 percent from a year ago last month, and spending also increased.
The reading, however, has not dimmed optimism that the United States may accomplish a “soft landing” where inflation declines without starting a recession, especially in light of other economic data this week showing some cooling in the economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.5 percent to 35,058.97 just five minutes into trade.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index also rose 0.2 percent to 14,043.99. The broad-based S&P 500 increased 0.2 percent to 4,524.17.
“The uptick in the year-over-year inflation readings would have to be the (PCE) report’s key takeaway,” wrote Patrick O’Hare of Briefing.com in a note.
“They weren’t of the eye-popping variety,” O’Hare said, adding that they should also draw the Fed’s attention as a reason to delay any rate cuts.
According to a different survey, new unemployment claims decreased last week, and they are currently at levels “that are indicative of a tight labour market that goes hand-in-hand with an economy that is definitely not in a hard-landing pattern,” he added.
This is anticipated to support some improvements in market movements for the time being.
Salesforce, a software company, saw its shares rise 5.8 percent in early trade after posting better-than-expected results.