US open: Stocks flat as investors digest data slew amid light volumes
US stocks were little changed at the open on Thursday as investors sifted through a slew of data releases on an otherwise quiet day, with little in the way of corporate news and volumes thin ahead of the new year.
At 1520 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2% to 24,816.49, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were flat at 2,683.57 and 6,940.05, respectively.
Oanda analyst Craig Erlam said: “The US dollar is trading lower for a second day on Thursday, still struggling after yields on Treasuries slipped on Wednesday. The flattening of the yield curve has triggered concerns that investors are possibly pricing in a slowing of the economy or even a recession and while this has historically happened on such expectations, I’m not convinced this is the case this time.
“Given the current environment, it’s possible that this is more a reflection of longer term interest rates and the low inflation environment than the economic prospects. Still, if yields on long term US debt don’t rise or even fall as the Fed raises interest rates, it could fuel fears of an impending recession.”
There was some good news on the data front, as the Chicago purchasing managers’ index showed a rise to 67.6 this month - its highest since March 2011 - from 63.9 in November, versus expectations for a reading of 62.
Elsewhere, data from the Labor Department showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits was steady last week, according to data from the Labor Department.
US initial jobless claims were unchanged from the previous week’s unrevised average of 245,000. Economists had been expecting claims to drop to 240,000.
Meanwhile, the four-week moving average came in at 237,750, up 1,750 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 236,000.
Meanwhile, preliminary figures from the Commerce Department revealed that America's shortfall on its foreign trade in goods widened last month, as import growth continued to outpace that in the country's exports.
The goods deficit increased by 2.3% month-on-month to reach $69.7bn versus consensus expectations for $68.0bn.
Import rose sharply, increasing by 2.7% to reach $203.4bn while exports were 2.9% higher to $133.7bn.
Unsurprisingly given the time of year, corporate news was thin on the ground.
Shares in trucking company JB Hunt fell after it issued fourth-quarter guidance that missed analysts’ expectations.