Wall Street opens higher after a job market indicator improves and more companies report results

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are climbing on Wall Street after a better-than-expected report on the job market eased some worries about the economy. The S&P 500 was up 1% in early trading Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 213 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 1.2%. Treasury yields climbed in the bond market, a signal that investors are feeling less worried about the economy, after a report showed fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week. Big companies continue to turn in profit reports that are mostly better than expected. Eli Lilly jumped after delivering results that beat forecasts.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Wall Street ticked slightly lower before the open on Thursday as more corporate earnings reports arrive and ahead of the most recent jobs data from the government.

Futures for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were both flat before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 0.2% lower.

Audio equipment maker Sonos tumbled 16.5% early after it said it was cutting 2024 guidance due to the bumpy rollout of its new app.

Bumble, the Texas-based dating app, lost about 40% of its value after its revenue guidance for the third quarter came in well below what Wall Street was forecasting.

Athletic gear and shoe company Under Armor rose 5.3% after it eked out a small profit when analysts were expecting a loss. It also topped revenue expectations.

Strong earnings have been broadly supporting markets even as concerns linger over the trajectory for the U.S. economy following last week’s relatively weak jobs data that sent global financial markets spiraling on fears that the economy might be trudging toward a recession. Growth for companies in the S&P 500 index may end up being the best since 2021, according to FactSet.

Also coming before markets open is the Labor Department’s weekly snapshot of layoffs, the first U.S. labor market data since Friday’s disappointing jobs numbers. The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless claims has been tracking consistently higher since May, and could be part of the equation the Federal Reserve uses to justify an interest rate cut when it meets in September.

The Fed has kept its benchmark lending rate at more than a two-decade high for the last year in a bid to suffocate the inflation that arose and persisted during the pandemic recovery.

The expectation on Wall Street is for the Fed to cut its main interest rate at its next scheduled meeting next month by either the traditional quarter of a percentage point or a more severe half of a point.

In Europe at midday, France’s CAC 40 gave up 1%, while Germany’s DAX lost 0.6% and Britain’s FTSE 100 shed 1.2%.

In Asian trading, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 finished at 34,831.15, down 0.7%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.2% to 7,682.00. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 0.5% to 2,556.73.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose nearly 0.1% to 16,891.83. The Shanghai Composite was virtually unchanged at 2,869.90. Taiwan’s Taiex dropped 2%.

Japanese officials moved Wednesday to calm concerns over potential rate hikes after an increase in its key rate pushed the yen higher against the U.S. dollar, contributing to heavy selling on Monday, when the Nikkei suffered its worst percentage loss since 1987.

The Japanese yen was relatively stable Thursday. The dollar fell to 146.13 Japanese yen from 146.72 yen. The euro cost $1.0926, barely down from $1.0927.

In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude picked up 9 cents to $75.32 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 5 cents to $78.28 a barrel.

Although Wall Street slumped on Wednesday, the decline wasn’t as bad as the manic moves that wracked worldwide markets earlier in the week. The S&P 500 slipped 0.8%, the Dow fell 0.6% and the Nasdaq composite dropped 1%.

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