US open: Stocks mixed as jobless claims come in higher than expected

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street stocks were mixed early on Thursday as fears over tighter monetary policy remained in focus and investors digested a number of key data points.
As of 1540 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.21% at 36,330.32, while the S&P 500 was 0.13% firmer at 4,706.67and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.07% stronger at 15,110.23.

The Dow opened 76.79 points lower on Thursday, extending losses recorded in the previous session after minutes from the latest Federal Reserve Bank meeting revealed a more hawkish tone than previously communicated, with some officials looking to raise interest rates faster and trim its $8.8trn balance sheet to combat spiralling costs of living.

Energy stocks were in the green at the bell on Thursday thanks to rising crude oil prices, with Marathon Oil and ExxonMobil trading higher, while Citigroup and Wells Fargo shares picked up more than 1% in early trading after the Federal Reserve revealed it was getting ready to remove its economic assistance at quicker than originally anticipated pace.

Tech stocks were under pressure, weighing on the Nasdaq, with market participants continuing to rotate out of tech stocks. Tesla and Netflix were down 3% and 4%, respectively.

In terms of earnings, Walgreens-Boots Alliance lifted forecasts but warned of rising labour costs as a result of efforts to keep up with Covid vaccines and tests and Bed Bath & Beyond said supply chain issues had led to its third-quarter results falling shy of expectations.

On the macro front, first-time claims for unemployment benefits came in at 207,000 in the week ended 1 January, according to the Labor Department, up from 200,000 in the previous week and above the 195,000 forecast by economists.

Continuing claims, which run a week behind the headline number, also increased, rising by 36,000 to 1.75m, while the four-week moving average, which accounts for weekly volatility in the numbers, grew to 204,500.

Also on jobs, Challenger, Gray & Christmas' December jobs cuts report revealed that US employers had announced plans to cut 19.052 jobs last month, roughly 75% lower than the figure reported at the same time a year earlier. For the whole of 2021, employers announced plans to cut 321,970 jobs from their payrolls - the lowest annual total on record since tracking began in 1993.

Elsewhere, November's trade balance came to a print of -$80.17bn - larger than the $77.1bn expected on the Street, just shy o the September deficit of -$81.44bn, with exports up 0.2% and imports rising 4.6%.

Still to come, the Institute for Supply Management's December non-manufacturing PMI and November factory orders data will follow at 1600 GMT.

Dow Jones - Risers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $231.29 1.59%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $162.05 1.43%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $270.45 1.22%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $60.90 1.04%
3M Co. (MMM) $180.40 0.51%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $144.46 0.38%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $122.71 0.37%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $164.37 0.36%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $60.98 0.31%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $317.33 0.30%

Dow Jones - Fallers

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $134.24 -2.88%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $52.61 -2.57%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $389.43 -2.31%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $481.97 -1.58%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $57.54 -1.38%
Boeing Co. (BA) $210.62 -1.15%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $173.24 -0.96%
American Express Co. (AXP) $170.29 -0.86%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $160.96 -0.80%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $170.90 -0.77%

S&P 500 - Risers

Lamb Weston Holdings, Inc. (LW) $67.52 6.97%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $28.00 4.44%
Hess Corp. (HES) $83.61 3.44%
Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG) $122.15 3.42%
FMC Technologies Inc. (FTI) $6.67 3.25%
Meta Platforms Inc. (FB) $333.63 2.92%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $17.69 2.82%
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (CFG) $52.30 2.59%
People's United Financial Inc. (PBCT) $19.60 2.56%
M&T Bank Corp. (MTB) $169.52 2.56%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Humana Inc. (HUM) $408.87 -10.33%
Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) $12.10 -5.25%
Bath & Body Works, Inc. (BBWI) $63.60 -4.50%
Nucor Corp. (NUE) $117.58 -4.19%
VF Corp. (VFC) $71.23 -3.99%
ConAgra Brands Inc (CAG) $32.99 -3.34%
Lennar Corp. Class A (LEN) $107.13 -3.32%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $550.10 -3.07%
Newmont Corporation (NEM) $58.54 -2.96%
Iron Mountain Inc (New) (IRM) $47.10 -2.90%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

JD.com, Inc. (JD) $65.00 3.14%
Meta Platforms Inc. (FB) $333.63 2.92%
NortonLifeLock Inc. (NLOK) $26.80 2.27%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $700.58 2.22%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $65.62 1.75%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $146.20 1.61%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $7.78 1.57%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $114.84 1.41%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $251.52 1.31%
Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $520.20 1.12%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $1,037.43 -4.64%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $550.10 -3.07%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $52.61 -2.57%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $168.43 -1.99%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $732.70 -1.74%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $178.17 -1.73%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $65.17 -1.69%
Henry Schein Inc. (HSIC) $77.75 -1.58%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $336.72 -1.53%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $132.02 -1.33%