US open: Stocks sharply higher following GDP reading, jobless claims

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street stocks were in the green at the bell on Thursday as major indices looked set to reclaim a chunk of yesterday's losses. As of 1510 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.55% at 42,146.18, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.63% to 5,758.04 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 1.06% firmer at 18,273.95.

The Dow opened 231.43 points higher on Thursday, clawing back most of yesterday's streak-snapping losses.

Thursday's primary focus will be on a final reading of America's gross domestic product, which revealed the US economy grew at an annualised pace of 3% in Q2, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, as expected by economists.

Elsewhere on the macro front, Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at a decelerated pace in the week ended 21 September, according to the Department of Labor. Initial jobless claims dropped by 4,000 week-on-week to 218,000, below market expectations for an increase to 225,000 for the lowest reading in four months.

Still on data, new durable goods orders were relatively unchanged month-on-month in August, according to the Census Bureau, compared to the revised 9.8% surge in July, the highest seen in four years, and contrasting sharply with market expectations of a 2.6% drop.

On another note, US pending home sales sank 3% year-on-year in August, according to the National Association of Realtors, extending June's 8.5% decline.

Yet to come, the Kansas Fed's September manufacturing activity index was slated for release at 1600 BST.

In the corporate space, shares in semiconductor giant Micron were trading at the open after the group issued strong forward guidance overnight, while Costco shares were slightly higher as traders awaited the retailer's latest set of quarterly earnings after the close.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $395.08 4.45% Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $8.47 2.61% Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $54.17 2.52% Nike Inc. (NKE) $90.14 2.44% 3M Co. (MMM) $139.24 1.93% Intel Corp. (INTC) $23.92 1.60% Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $95.03 1.18% Boeing Co. (BA) $153.82 1.05% Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $316.12 1.04% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $496.05 1.00%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $142.05 -1.33% Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $113.32 -1.23% Walmart Inc. (WMT) $80.60 -0.99% Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $234.59 -0.73% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $71.13 -0.45% Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $574.47 -0.32% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $273.58 -0.18% Apple Inc. (AAPL) $226.17 -0.09% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $44.54 -0.02% JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $210.17 -0.01%

S&P 500 - Risers

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $111.76 16.70% Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) $31.33 10.34% Estee Lauder Co. Inc. (EL) $99.86 9.01% American Airlines Group (AAL) $11.81 7.38% Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $92.77 7.15% Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $90.02 7.00% Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $51.37 6.33% Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $854.17 6.27% Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $209.41 6.13% Celanese Corp. (CE) $137.93 6.08%

S&P 500 - Fallers

FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $25.61 -4.55% Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG) $173.26 -4.03% Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $30.16 -3.18% Halliburton Co. (HAL) $28.18 -2.39% Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $26.11 -2.34% Apache Corp. (APA) $24.00 -2.32% Northern Trust Corp. (NTRS) $88.69 -2.31% ConocoPhillips (COP) $103.33 -2.27% ONEOK Inc. (OKE) $92.62 -2.19% Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $38.98 -2.07%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $111.76 16.70% JD.com, Inc. (JD) $37.33 12.41% Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $102.57 9.11% Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $55.49 8.62% American Airlines Group (AAL) $11.81 7.38% Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $90.02 7.00% NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $92.67 6.65% Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $854.17 6.27% Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $209.41 6.13% Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $69.71 5.63%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $23.91 -0.87% Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $903.82 -0.51% Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $718.57 -0.41% Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $460.35 -0.31% Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $2,125.00 -0.30% Fiserv Inc. (FI) $176.33 -0.27% Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $82.01 -0.24% T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $202.91 -0.19% eBay Inc. (EBAY) $64.03 -0.11% Apple Inc. (AAPL) $226.17 -0.09%