While the Dow Jones average opened lower, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both, as expected, kicked off higher.
The S&P 500 was up four points at 2,103, as investors digested some economic data.
“The headline success for those hawks in the central bank was the personal spending figure; from a downward revised 0.0% last month the number surged all the way to 1.0%, the highest reading in effectively two years,” noted Connor Campbell at spread betting firm Spreadex.
“Joining that was a solid 0.4% reading for personal income and a jump to 0.2% for the core PCE price index, though they were countered by a negative territory level Chicago PMI (slipping to 49.3, its worst reading February) and a CB consumer confidence figure that, at 92.6, matches the low seen in November. So, not enough to ensure a rate hike in the coming months, but plenty of the hawks to play with, something that hit the Dow Jones and dragged it 40 points lower,” Campbell added.
The Dow has since recovered a little to trade 30 points lower at 17,843.
Mid-caps are firmer on balance, with the S&P 400 five points to the good at 1,497. The small-caps tracker, the Russell 2,000, was four points higher at 1,155.
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (NYSE:CLF) was the best performer on the Big Board, rising 3% to $4.20 after it entered into a new long-term iron ore supply agreement with steel giant ArcelorMittal.
On Nasdaq, Celator Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:CPXX), as expected, set the pace after the board agreed to recommend acceptance of a bid from French peer Jazz Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Shares in Celator were up 71% to $29.94 as Jazz offered $30.25 a share, valuing Celator at around $1.5bn.
Life sciences firm Stemcell Inc (NASDAQ:STEM) lost four-fifths of its value as it terminated its phase II pathway study in spinal cord injuries.