US: Stocks open higher in final session of third quarter

[NEW YORK] Wall Street stocks opened higher on Thursday as investors weighed an uptick in jobless claims and the diminishing odds of a US government shutdown ahead of a congressional deadline.

New claims for US unemployment benefits rose for the third straight week in an apparent sign of the drag from the Delta variant of Covid-19, but the rate of increase was lower than the prior two weeks.

The Senate was expected to approve later on Thursday a stopgap measure to fund the government and avert a shutdown. However, Washington remains mired in partisan conflict over President Joe Biden's wider legislative agenda.

"We're in a choppy period," said Maris Ogg of Tower Bridge Advisors, who pointed to Washington uncertainty as a source of volatility.

About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2 per cent at 34,451.81.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.5 per cent to 4,380.29, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 0.8 per cent to 14,632.23.

Among individual companies, Acceleron Pharma fell 0.3 per cent after it announced an agreement to be acquired by Merck for US$11.5 billion. Shares of Acceleron had risen earlier in the week following reports of the likely deal. Merck rose 1.4 per cent.

Bed Bath & Beyond plunged 25 per cent as the company reported disappointing quarterly results and cut its forecast, citing a "challenging environment" due to the Delta variant.

Thursday marks the conclusion of the third quarter of trading following a rocky September for indices. Nonetheless, the S&P 500 is currently up almost 2 per cent for the period.

AFP