US open: Dow Jones records solid gains following PCE report

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street stocks were higher early on Friday following a solid session for the Dow Jones on Thursday. As of 1530 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.85% at 42,533.67, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.28% to 5,761.21 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.03% firmer at 18,195.74.

The Dow opened 358.56 points higher on Friday, extending gains recorded in the previous session as traders digested weekly jobless claims data and a final reading of America's Q2 gross domestic product numbers.

Friday's primary focus will be August's personal consumption expenditures index, which revealed inflation inched closer towards the Federal Reserve's target last month, according to the Commerce Department, paving the way for future interest rate cuts.

The personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, rose 0.1% in August, or 2.2% on an annualised basis, down from a 2.5% print in July and better than the 2.3% reading expected by economists. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, core PCE rose 0.1% in August and was 2.7% higher year-on-year, just 0.1 percentage point higher than in July. Elsewhere, personal income increased 0.2% on the month, while spending rose 0.2%

Elsewhere on the macro front, a preliminary reading of last month's goods trade balance figures showed the US trade deficit in goods shrank to $94.3bn in August, down from an upwardly revised $102.8bn shortfall in July, marking the lowest deficit since March and below market consensus estimates for a reading of $99.4bn.

On another note, US wholesale inventories rose 0.2% month-on-month in August to $905.7bn, according to the Census Bureau, in line with expectations and unchanged from the prior month's reading.

Finally, the University of Michigan's September consumer sentiment index was revised higher to 70.1 in September, up from a preliminary reading of 69 the highest reading in five months.

In the corporate space, Costco shares were lower in early trading following a Q4 revenue miss overnight.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $9.06 6.34% Visa Inc. (V) $276.81 1.88% Intel Corp. (INTC) $24.31 1.63% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $144.19 1.55% Boeing Co. (BA) $156.57 1.29% Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $323.03 1.23% Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $55.37 1.19% Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $581.21 1.11% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $400.87 1.05% Apple Inc. (AAPL) $229.26 0.76%

Dow Jones - Fallers

3M Co. (MMM) $137.69 -1.26% International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $223.35 -0.03% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $431.25 -0.01% Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $44.63 0.01% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $497.00 0.02% Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $236.31 0.11% JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $210.02 0.11% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $391.47 0.13% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $276.22 0.17%

S&P 500 - Risers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $9.06 6.34% Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $96.28 5.77% Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $1.16 4.95% CVS Health Corp (CVS) $61.29 3.86% MGM Resorts International (MGM) $39.79 3.86% Apache Corp. (APA) $23.89 3.20% Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $41.45 3.03% CenturyLink Inc. (LUMN) $7.14 2.88% Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $325.69 2.74% AES Corp. (AES) $20.17 2.67%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Universal Health Services Inc. (UHS) $226.33 -5.57% HP Inc (HPQ) $35.54 -3.55% Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) $886.88 -2.47% Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $174.40 -2.07% Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $883.72 -1.97% Globe Life Inc. (GL) $107.48 -1.93% NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $122.06 -1.92% Arista Networks Inc. (ANET) $379.04 -1.88% Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $78.86 -1.52% Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $122.23 -1.46%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $9.06 6.34% Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $60.26 6.31% Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $96.28 5.77% Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $107.61 4.92% JD.com, Inc. (JD) $39.61 4.25% NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $94.81 4.04% Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $325.69 2.74% Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $255.73 2.51% DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $27.09 2.19% Incyte Corp. (INCY) $66.54 2.17%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $174.40 -2.07% Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $883.72 -1.97% Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $78.86 -1.52% Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $122.23 -1.46% Intuit Inc. (INTU) $628.19 -1.36% Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $204.22 -1.35% KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $794.73 -1.22% Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $2,077.01 -1.10% Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $69.71 -1.07% Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $109.58 -1.07%