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U.S. stocks higher after positive GDP data, hawkish Fed remarks in focus

Published 03/30/2017, 11:02 AM
Updated 03/30/2017, 11:02 AM
© Reuters.  Wall Street returns gains amid mixed data, hawkish Fed talk

© Reuters. Wall Street returns gains amid mixed data, hawkish Fed talk

Investing.com – Wall Street traded slightly higher on Thursday after a positive revision to gross domestic product (GDP) numbers for the fourth quarter, while markets continued to evaluate comments from Federal Reserve (Fed) officials.

At 11:00AM ET (15:00GMT), the Dow Jones gained 88 points, or 0.43%, the S&P 500 rose 9 points, or 0.37%, while the Nasdaq Composite traded up 18 points, or 0.30%.

Growth in the American economy in the last three months of 2016 was revised up on Thursday to 2.1%, from the prior 1.9%, beating expectations for an expansion of 2.0%.

On the downside, initial jobless claims dropped less than expected last week, while continuing claims increased by more than forecast.

In the meantime, market players continued to be on the lookout for remarks from Fed officials to gauge the chances of future policy tightening.

Cleveland Fed president Loretta Mester continued the hawkish line of remarks seen this week from policymakers as she repeated her call for further rate hikes and the start of balance sheet normalization this year.

San Francisco Fed chief John Williams and Dallas Fed president Robert Kaplan were also on the docket later on Thursday.

New York Fed chief William Dudley, widely considered to be the member whose views most closely align with Fed chair Janet Yellen, will be closely watched at 4:30PM ET (20:30GMT) as he delivers a speech on financial conditions and monetary policy.

In big moves in share prices, Lululemon (NASDAQ:LULU) crashed more than 20% as the Canadian yoga apparel maker delivered a disappointing sales outlook.

In positive news, ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) led the advancers on the S&P 500 after announcing a deal to sell Canadian oil sands and natural gas assets to Cenovus Energy Inc (TO:CVE) for $13.3 billion.

Meanwhile, oil prices reversed earlier losses on Thursday, reaching a fresh three-week high above $50 following reports saying that Kuwait and other OPEC countries support extending production cuts beyond June to balance the market.

U.S. crude futures gained 1.35% to $50.18 by 11:01AM ET (15:01GMT), while Brent oil traded up 0.88% to $52.99.

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