- The major Wall Street indices are unchanged on Thursday.
- Energy stocks post strong gains on rising crude oil prices.
- Investors await FOMC Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at 17:05 GMT.
The main stock indices They suffered heavy losses in the previous two sessions, but opened modestly higher on Thursday and investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of FOMC Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at 17:05 GMT.
At time of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3% on the day to 31,375, the S&P 500 Index was up 0.25% at 3,830, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.4% at 12,740.
Among the top 11 sectors in the S&P 500, the Energy Index is up more than 1% supported by a 2% rise in crude oil prices. On the other hand, the defensive utilities index is posting small losses after the opening bell.
Earlier in the day, US data showed that weekly Initial Unemployment Claims rose to 745,000, but were better than market expectations of 750,000. Additionally, Unit Labor Costs in the fourth quarter increased 4%. Powell will offer his comments on the state of the US economy at the Wall Street Journal jobs summit later in the session.
.
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.