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Investing.com — U.S. stock markets opened higher on Thursday, focusing on the prospect of a stimulus package from Congress rather than on signs of a further slowdown in the U.S. economy.
By 9:40 AM ET (1440 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 152 points, or 0.5% at 30,307 points. The S&P 500 was likewise up 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.7%.
Earlier, the Labor Department had reported that initial jobless claims rose to a new three-month high last week at 885,000, defying expectations for an improvement to 800,000.
The market interpreted the news as likely to focus lawmakers’ minds on completing a stimulus package likely to be worth around $750 billion.
Paul Donovan, chief economist with UBS Global Wealth Management, said the package was essentially an ‘automatic stabilizer’ along European lines, and more to be viewed as an ‘anti-depressant’ than as a stimulant.
