Wall Street starts higher as jobless claims inch downwards

The main indices on Wall Street started Wednesday’s session on the front foot following a welcome decline in US jobless claims. Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.57% at 30,193 while the S&P 500 climbed 0.41% to 3,702 and the Nasdaq rose 0.05% to 12,814. The higher open followed jobless data for the week to December 19, which showed that 803,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits, down from 892,000 in the prior week but still at elevated levels suggesting that the economy is still struggling. Other data also showed that US personal incomes fell 1.1% month-on-month in November while household spending fell 0.4%, providing support for claims by many including Donald Trump that the US$600 stimulus cheques unveiled in the recently agreed spending bill may not be enough to boost a recovery. 8.00am: Wall Street to start higher despite Trump stimulus threat US futures are pointing at a green open, with the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq to add just a handful of points. US stocks may experience volatility after Donald Trump pushed the government to give US$2,000 stimulus checks instead of the US$600 as announced. “The current deal that Congress put together is a band-aid fiscal support solution that keeps unemployment benefits and support for small business lasting till March. Trump wants a substantial coronavirus stimulus package that might make a difference for households,” explained Edward Moya at OANDA. “Something needs to get done by December 28 and right now markets are expecting that we could see a last-minute tweak that provides more stimulus for Americans. With less than two weeks to the two Georgia Senate runoff races, Republicans do not want to jeopardize Trump’s support ahead of the elections that will determine who controls the Senate.” Three things to watch for on Wednesday: Little in the earnings diary on Wednesday, however, there may be some interest in payroll and HR outsourcing firm Paychex Inc (NASDAQ:PAYX) which is scheduled to report second quarter numbers Pharma firm Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) may also be in focus following news that the company has clinched a deal with the US government for 100 million more doses of its COVID-19 vaccine developed in partnership with BioNTech The macro calendar will deliver US jobless claims data for the week to December 19, with analysts predicting a slight decline of 5,000 from the prior week’s number of 885,000. However, even a slight fall will mean the jobless rate is very elevated and that the US economy is still struggling into the winter months