Wall Street higher at the opening bell amid fall in US jobless claims

The main indices on Wall Street were in the green at the start of Thursday’s session as the latest US stimulus package and a fall in US jobless claims boosted market optimism Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.32% at 32,399 while the S&P 500 climbed 0.76% to 3,928 and the Nasdaq rose 1.69% to 13,290. The higher start came as US jobless data for the week to March 6 showed 712,000 Americans filed for unemployment, down from 754,000 the previous week and below estimates of 725,000. Continuing claims, meanwhile, declined by 193,000 to 4.14mln, although the numbers remain highly elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels. The decline has been attributed to a gradual reopening of some US states following the winter weather, which may have encouraged some firms to refrain from laying off employees for now. On the market, newly listed firm Roblox Corp (NYSE:RBLX) was once again performing strongly on its second day on the market, rising 9.6% to US$76.81 in early deals. 7:50am: Wall Street to start mostly higher Wall Street’s main indices look set to open mostly in the green on Thursday following the passage of a fresh round of US stimulus. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 are expected to open higher while the Nasdaq is forecast to start the day barely in the red after recovering from the losses taken earlier this month. The US House of Representatives passed the largest fiscal stimulus package in US history, with US$1.9 trillion allocated in support for Americans. “Given the sheer size of the bill and the American public’s willingness to spend (retail sales surged after the previous check), it’s highly likely that the US consumer will help the economy on its way to a faster recovery,” said Sophie Griffiths, analyst at OANDA. “While bond yields and inflation concerns have eased today there is little doubt that they will remain on the market’s radar.” “US core inflation rose just 0.1% month-on-month in February, below expectations, while core CPI rose 1.3% on an annual basis, also falling short of forecasts. The data put to rest (at least for now) runaway inflation expectations, which had been mounting.” Four things to watch for on Thursday: The earnings diary for Thursday is somewhat sparse, although it will feature results from digital form specialist DocuSign Inc (NASDAQ:DOCU) Shares in Vir Biotechnology Inc (NASDAQ:VIR) will also be in focus after its coronavirus (COVID-19) antibody was shown to reduce the risk of death in patients COVID-19 vaccine maker Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) could also see a boost after the US government unveiled plans to order an additional 100mln doses of the jab On the macro front, traders will be keeping an eye on the latest interest rate decision from the European Central Bank as well as the latest round of US jobless claims data