S&P 500 Index opens in the positive territory above 4,100

Wall Street's main indexes opened higher on Thursday.
Technology shares post impressive gains after the opening bell.
Energy stocks underperform amid falling crude oil prices.

Eren Sengezer FXStreet

Major equity indexes in the US opened higher on Thursday as the negative impact of the FOMC Minutes on market sentiment seems to have faded already. As of writing, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was virtually unchanged on the day at 33,883, the S&P 500 Index was rising 0.4% at 4,132 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 1% at 13,370.

Reflecting the improving market mood, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), Wall Street's fear gauge, is down 4% on the day.

Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, the risk-sensitive Technology and the Communication Services indexes both gain around 1%. On the other hand, the Energy Index is losing 1.38% pressures by a 1% decline seen in the US crude oil prices.

Earlier in the day, the data published by the US Department of Labor showed that the weekly Initial Jobless Claims declined to 444,000 from 478,000. This reading came in better than the market expectation of 450,000.

S&P 500 chart (daily)

Author

Eren Sengezer

FXStreet

As an economist at heart, Eren Sengezer specializes in the assessment of the short-term and long-term impacts of macroeconomic data, central bank policies and political developments on financial assets.

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