US open: Stocks trade higher as investors thumb over another key inflation report

(Sharecast News) - Major indices were in the green early on Thursday as market participants digested another key inflation reading.

As of 1455 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.16% at 53,854.10, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.56% to 7,792.07 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 0.79% firmer at 26,798.31.

The Dow opened 83.83 points higher on Thursday, more than reversing losses recorded in the previous session after the Bureau of Labor Statistics' all-important consumer price index ticked up 0.1% in July.

As for Thursday, investor attention turned to last month's producer price index, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealing that US producer prices were unchanged in July, following a 0.1% decline in June and a 0.5% increase in May. On an unadjusted basis, the final demand index rose 4.7% over the 12 months to July. A 0.2% rise in final demand services and a 2.2% increase in construction prices offset a 0.7% fall in goods. Excluding food, energy and trade services, final demand prices rose 0.4%, leaving the core measure up 4.7% yearonyear.

Economists were expecting to see headline PPI cool from 0.3% to 0.2% month-on-month, while core PPI was seen rising to 0.3% last month versus 0.2% in June.

Elsewhere on the macro front, Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at an accelerated pace in the week ended 8 August, according to the Labor Department, with initial claims coming in ahead of Wall Street estimates. Initial claims rose by 9,000 to 209,000 ahead of expectations for a reading of 202,000, while the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, was unchanged week-on-week at 199,000. Meanwhile, continuing claims declined by 22,000 to 1.77m. Also of note, the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate came to 1.2% for the week ended 1 August, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate.

In the corporate space, the Financial Times reported that investors in Anthropic expect the AI firm to be valued at more than $2trn when it lists on the US stock market. According to the report, Anthropic could go public as early as October, with backers targeting what would be a record valuation for a newly listed tech firm. Anthropic has yet to formally set a date for its initial public offering.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $238.23 1.33%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $416.73 1.31%

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $194.49 1.29%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $133.70 0.92%

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $104.33 0.91%

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $145.12 0.74%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $1,045.84 0.62%

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $373.27 0.60%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $102.10 0.56%

Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $87.17 0.55%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $113.02 -9.10%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $195.54 -0.55%

3M Co. (MMM) $182.85 -0.48%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $363.54 -0.34%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $30.55 -0.28%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $497.85 -0.20%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $405.50 -0.12%

American Express Co. (AXP) $343.48 -0.04%

S&P 500 - Risers

HP Inc (HPQ) $30.23 7.84%

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) $61.75 6.80%

Biogen Inc (BIIB) $210.36 5.11%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $282.77 4.64%

NetApp Inc. (NTAP) $205.15 3.92%

Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $133.39 3.54%

Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $109.60 3.31%

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $76.76 3.28%

Under Armour, Inc. (UA) $5.25 3.22%

Advance Auto Parts (AAP) $54.83 3.13%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Tapestry Inc. (TPR) $129.07 -16.24%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $113.02 -9.10%

Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $32.56 -8.62%

Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $79.60 -3.33%

Mattel Inc. (MAT) $14.58 -3.01%

Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $243.68 -2.98%

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $11.39 -2.83%

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $519.46 -2.74%

Newmont Corporation (NEM) $114.51 -2.62%

Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $324.48 -2.27%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Biogen Inc (BIIB) $210.36 5.11%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $282.77 4.64%

Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $109.60 3.31%

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $76.76 3.28%

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $878.23 2.72%

Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $69.92 2.33%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $924.13 2.31%

Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $62.92 2.30%

Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $24.94 2.28%

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $224.95 2.21%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.34 -13.49%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $113.02 -9.10%

Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $79.60 -3.33%

Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $243.68 -2.98%

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $11.39 -2.83%

Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $519.46 -2.74%

JD.com, Inc. (JD) $30.24 -2.73%

Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,848.30 -2.32%

Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $324.48 -2.27%

Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $278.81 -2.22%