4.10pm: US markets end the day with solid gains
US markets ended a roller coaster day in positive territory shrugging aside Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s comments on the central bank’s continuing fight against inflation.
Powell reiterated his determination to tame inflation adding to the likelihood that the Fed will hikes interest rates by 75 basis points at this month's meeting.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 193 points higher, or 0.61%, at 31,774, the S&P 500 gained 26 points, or 0.66%, to 4,006 and the Nasdaq Composite rose by 70 points, or 0.6%, to 11,862.
1.45pm: Queen Elizabeth II dies
In the UK earlier, it was announced by Buckingham Palace that the Queen had died, aged 96.
She was Britain's longest serving monarch at 70 years.
A statement read: "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and the Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow."
12:02pm: Rate hikes likely to continue 'until the job is done,' says Powell
At midday, the Dow was up 113 points, 0.4%, at 31,694, the Nasdaq Composite jumped 57 points, 0.5%, to 11,849 and the S&P 500 climbed 19 points, 0.5%, to 3,999.
The benchmarks managed to shake off opening losses fueled by ongoing concern that the Federal Reserve will continue to aggressively raise interest rates in an effort to combat inflation.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated that point in a Q&A session Thursday morning at the Cato Institute.
“History cautions strongly against prematurely loosening policy,” Powell said. “I can assure you that my colleagues and I are strongly committed to this project and we will keep at it until the job is done.”
10.10am: Proactive North America headlines:
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Silvercorp Metals announces publication of annual Sustainability Report for Fiscal 2022
BioVaxys Technology adds experienced CFO Craig Loverock to its executive team
Goldshore Resources says drill results confirm high-grade gold mineralization at Ontario Moss Lake project
Kootenay Silver drills more high-grade silver at its Columba project in Mexico
Coinsilium highlights new venture between two of its advisory clients, Metalinq Labs and Blvck Paris
Think Research expands content and learning management contract with global pharma company to $6.4M
Blue Sky Uranium reveals promising assay results from Amarillo Grande Uranium-Vanadium Project in Argentina
Kainantu Resources says transformative acquisition of Kili Teke copper-gold project in PNG is on track
Naturally Splendid says Gordon Food Service to distribute Plantein products
Wellteq Digital Health licenses top-performing electronic Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (eCBT) program
Electra Battery Materials spotlights study showing compelling economics of Ontario integrated EV battery materials facility
Delivra Health Brands confirms name change from Harvest One
Talon Metals uncovers 'more thick, high-grade' nickel-copper mineralization outside main resource area at Minnesota project
Copper Fox Metals releases results of Biological Evaluation at Van Dyke Copper Project; plans to commence Phase 1 activities
Cabral Gold unveils positive results from drilling at MG deposit at Cuiu Cuiu asset
Algernon Pharmaceuticals announces its headline sponsorship of Wonderland, a key gathering for the psychedelic medicine industry
Atlantic Lithium successfully closes dual listing offer in Australia
Endexx Corp announces acquisition of controlling stake in nicotine-free vape producer Hyla
Looking Glass Labs appoints Ryan Lange as director of partnership for House of Kibaa; closes Web 3.0 Holdings acquisition
GameStop and FTX US form partnership amid deepening losses for video game retailer
Logiq announces entry into roofing market to expand home improvement offerings
9.35am: Employment data ‘nail in the coffin of the recession story’
US stocks opened lower on Thursday as new initial jobless claims data from the Labor Department showed that the employment market remains strong despite inflationary pressures.
Just after the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had sunk 238 points or 0.8% at 31,343 points, the S&P 500 had slipped 31 points or 0.8% at 3,949 points, and the Nasdaq Composite had shed 108 points or 0.9% at 11,684 points.
Shares of Asana Inc soared about 23% after the workplace productivity platform posted results that beat Wall Street expectations and raised its revenue forecast for the fiscal year on Wednesday afternoon.
GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) also jumped about 2% at the open, despite posting a second-quarter earnings miss after the bell yesterday.
Initial jobless claims for the week ended September 3 fell by 6,000 to 222,000, coming in below the consensus analyst expectation of 235,000.
Pantheon Macroeconomics chief economist Ian Shepherdson said this data was another nail in the coffin of the recession story.
“The bottom line here is that nothing in this data suggests the economy is softening further, still less that it is in recession,” he said.
He noted that this was the fourth straight decline and the seventh straight undershoot against consensus, a sign of how strongly many forecasters believed that the spike in claims in early July marked the start of a sustained increase.
“It did not; the July numbers were driven up by seasonal adjustment problems caused by the annual automakers’ retooling shutdowns,” he said. “We never take these numbers seriously from late June through mid-August, but the underlying trend is now re-emerging, and it is low and flat or falling.”
6.30am: Shortlived gains?
US stocks were expected to open slightly lower on Thursday, unable to sustain the rebound seen yesterday, as the prospect of aggressive interest rate hikes weighs on investors' minds.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were trading down 0.02% pre-market, while those for the broader S&P 500 index were down 0.03%, and futures for the tech-laden Nasdaq-100 were 0.05% lower.
However, sporadic bargain hunting is still likely, given the gloomy outlook in global markets.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya senior analyst at Swissquote Bank noted that while US equities had a strong rebound yesterday, the latest comments from Federal Reserve members have remained hawkish.
“The Fed’s Vice Chair Lael Brainard repeated that the rates will be hiked to restrictive levels, and they will stay there for ‘some time’. This means there will be no cut to be anticipated just yet,” she said, adding that another Fed member, Loretta Mester, noted that the US benchmark rate will go above 4% in early 2023.
The Fed has been hiking interest rates steadily and aggressively through the year as it tries to rein in inflation which remains around four-decade highs. Many fear that higher rates will choke off economic growth.
“The Fed Chair (Jerome) Powell is due to speak today as well, and he will also repeat that there will be no easing to be anticipated just yet,” said Ozkardeskaya. “And they will keep repeating this until the market gets it right: there is no policy easing, and lowering rates in horizon for the Fed."
Powell’s speech is scheduled for 9.10am ET. On the data front, US initial weekly jobless claims numbers, due at 8.30am ET, will be closely watched.
Elsewhere, the White House noted the resilience of the US economy after the US trade deficit narrowed to $70.7 billion in July from $80.9 billion in June and an all-time high of $106.9 billion in March.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com