US open: Stocks higher as traders await details of UK trade deal

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street stocks were in the green early on Thursday after Donald Trump announced he had struck a trade deal with the United Kingdom.

As of 1515 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.34% at 41,253.04, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.37% to 5,652.36 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 0.56% firmer at 17,837.07.

The Dow opened 139.07 points higher on Thursday, extending gains recorded in the previous session as all three major averages logged a winning session.

Thursday's primary focus was set to be news that the White House has struck a trade deal with Westminster. Trump was originally set to host a press conference at 1500 BST; however, the presser has been delayed by roughly half an hour.

"The agreement with the United Kingdom is a full and comprehensive one that will cement the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom for many years to come," said Trump, who claimed the deal was just the "first of many".

Donald Trump also took aim at Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell yet again on Thursday after the central bank opted to keep its benchmark overnight lending rate unchanged at a range of 4.25% to 4.5% due to heightened economic uncertainty as a result of the White House's so-called "Liberation Day" tariffs.

"'Too Late' Jerome Powell is a FOOL, who doesn't have a clue. Other than that, I like him very much! Oil and Energy way down, almost all costs (groceries and "eggs") down, virtually NO INFLATION, Tariff Money Pouring Into the US - THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF "TOO LATE!" ENJOY!," Trump wrote on social media.

The Federal Reserve's decision to maintain rates until the economic outlook becomes slightly clearer comes as the "risks of higher unemployment and higher inflation" have risen. Powell also said Trump's constant derision and criticisms had not impacted the central bank's thining "at all".

"We are always going to do the same thing, which is we are going to use our tools to foster maximum employment and price stability for the benefit of the American people," said Powell. "We are always going to consider only the economic data, the outlook, the balance of risks and that's it. That's all we are going to consider."

On the macro front, Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at a slower pace in the week ended 3 May, according to the Labor Department. Initial jobless claims fell by 13,000 to 228,000, a sharp contrast when compared to the two-month high of 241,000 from the previous week, while continuing claims fell by 29,000 to 1.87m, easing from the over three-year high seen during April. The four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, was 227,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 226,000. Meanwhile, the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ending 26 April, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the previous week's unrevised rate.

On another note, measured US labour productivity tumbled at the start of 2025, as a surge in imports led to a drop in aggregate demand. According to the Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms, non-farm labour productivity shrank at a quarterly annualised pace of 0.8% during the first quarter (consensus: -0.4%). The drop was the result of 0.6% growth in the number of hours worked, even as output dropped by 0.3% from the previous quarter. In turn, output was dragged down by a surge in net imports as Americans tried to front-run trade tariffs. Unit labour cost growth meanwhile accelerated to a clip of 5.7% (consensus: 5.3%), in comparison to the 2.0% pace of gain observed in the fourth quarter.

Finally, US wholesale inventories rose by 0.4% month-on-month to $907.5bn in March, according to the Census Bureau, falling short of a preliminary reading of 0.5% and following February's 0.5% increase in February. Durable goods inventories rose 0.6%, while inventories of non-durable goods rose 0.1%. On an annualised basis, wholesale inventories grew 2.2% in March, down slightly from an advance estimate of 2.3%.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

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