US: Stocks hesitate at open

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks opened trading on a hesitant note Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq nearly flat after ending at records in the prior session.

Traders are anticipating the annual Jackson Hole central banking symposium on Friday, when Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is due to deliver a speech that could include hints of changes to key stimulus policies.

About 45 minutes into trading, the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1 per cent to 35,454.39.

The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.1 per cent to 4,492.29, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 0.1 per cent to 15,050.67.

The S&P 500 finished Wednesday's trading at its second consecutive record and the Nasdaq marked its third.

Gregori Volokhine of Meeschaert Financial Services said traders were waiting for direction.

"There's really no reason to increase investor risk-taking when all the indexes are at their highest," he told AFP, describing this session as a "pause." "There's also no reason for the indices to fall sharply."

Government data released before markets opened showed new unemployment claim filings increased marginally last week, while GDP was revised slightly upwards to 6.6 per cent for the second quarter.

Traders are particularly anxious to hear about when the Fed will dial back its massive asset purchase programme intended to ease lending conditions amid the pandemic.

Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Esther George, the official host of Friday's conference, who is not currently a voting member of the monetary policy committee, indicated she would support tapering bond buying soon.

"The inflation numbers are coming in strong, (which) would suggest that there's an opportunity to begin to dial back on asset purchases," she told Fox Business Network.

AFP