Indexes rose Thursday as investors took in new data on jobless claims ahead of the start of the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole conference.
Jobless claims from last week rose slightly, up 4,000 to 232,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
That modest rise follows two weeks of falling claims. Last week's data was short of expectations for a rise of 6,000.
The report follows revised jobs data, which showed the US added 818,000 fewer jobs between April 2023 and March 2024 compared to initial reports.
The data, released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday, shows the past year's job market has been weaker than previously thought.
Investors are also watching for data on the sales of existing homes in July, due from the National Association of Realtors at 10 a.m. ET. Economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal estimate sales increased 1.5% from June, or 3.95 million homes annually.
Finally, investors are waiting for more guidance on rate cuts and the state of the economy from Chair Jerome Powell, who is set to speak at the Federal Reserve's annual Jackson Hole conference on Friday.
Minutes from the Fed's July meeting released on Wednesday further bolstered confidence that the Fed is ready to cut rates in September. The "vast majority" of officials said a September ease in policy would "likely be appropriate" if economic data continues "to come in about as expected," the minutes said.
Investors see a 100% chance that the Fed cuts rates in September, with a 69.5% chance of 25 basis points and a 30.5% chance of 50 basis points, according to the CME FedWatch tool .
Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. opening bell on Thursday:
Here's what else is going on today:
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
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