US stocks bounce at start of first session of August

[NEW YORK]

Wall Street stocks rose early on Monday ahead of key US economic data and earnings as markets monitor the latest Covid-19 and vaccination trends.

Top US scientist Anthony Fauci predicted the United States would see "some pain and suffering in the future" due to the Delta strain of Covid-19.

But on the positive side, new US vaccinations have begun to tick higher again in the last week or so after a period of decline.

After ending last week on a lackustre note, analysts said the early gains Monday reflected the inflow of additional investment funds at the start of a new month.

This week's calendar includes the July jobs report, as well as earnings from General Motors and Marriott International, among others.

About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.7 per cent at 35,164.28.

The broad-based S&P 500 added 0.5 per cent at 4,419.14, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.3 per cent to 14,713.99.

Among individual companies, fintech company Square jumped 7.7 per cent after announcing the US$29 billion acquisition of Australia's fast-growing buy-now, pay-later firm Afterpay.

AFP