Stocks open broadly higher, pushing S&P 500 back to record

BEIJING — Stocks are opening broadly higher on Wall Street led by gains in technology, industrial and other companies. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% in the early going Thursday, pushing it back into record territory after a flat close a day earlier. Apple paced gains in the tech sector with a 1.4% increase in early trading. Online pet food seller Chewy sank 8% after reporting results that fell short of analysts’ forecasts. Trading has been muted in recent days ahead of Friday’s jobs report from the Labor Department and the Labor Day holiday in the U.S. on Monday.

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

BEIJING (AP) — Global stocks rose Thursday after soft U.S. jobs surveys fueled optimism the Federal Reserve might feel less pressure to wind down stimulus.

Markets in Shanghai, Tokyo and Frankfurt rose while London opened little changed.

Wall Street futures were higher after the benchmark S&P 500 index added 0.1% on Wednesday.

The spread of the coronavirus’s delta variant and anti-disease measures have depressed hiring and consumer confidence. But that has reassured some investors that the Fed and other central banks might postpone plans to wind down easy credit and other stimulus that has supported stock prices.

Ahead of U.S. employment data due out Friday, a survey by payroll processor ADP found companies added jobs more slowly than expected in August. A separate survey by the Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, showed manufacturing employment declined.

“This seems to reduce the chances of significant outperformance” by Friday’s Labor Department report “and supports the stance that Fed tapering may not come until at least November,” said Yeap Jun Rong of IG in a report.

In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London was flat at 7,147.70 while Frankfurt’s DAX rose 0.2% to 15,855.12. The CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.2% to 6,772.42.

On Wall Street, futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 0.1% higher.

On Wednesday, the Dow fell 0.1% while the Nasdaq climbed 0.3%.

In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.8% to 3,597.04 and the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo advanced 0.3% to 28,543.51. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.1% to 26,056.44.

The Kospi in Seoul sank 1% to 3,175.85 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 lost 0.6% to 7,485.70.

India’s Sensex gained 0.5% to 57,634.71. New Zealand and Bangkok gained while Singapore and Jakarta declined.

Forecasters expect U.S. employers to have created 750,000 jobs in August, according to FactSet, pushing the unemployment rate down to 5.2%.

The Labor Department data could help give investors a clearer picture of whether the Fed will decide at its September meeting on a timeline for winding down its $120 billion a month in bond purchases that inject money into the financial system.

Investors took comments by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell last week as assurance interest rates will stay low for the foreseeable future, even when the Fed starts to reduce bond purchases.

Summary = Global stocks are higher after soft U.S. jobs surveys fueled optimism the Federal Reserve might feel less pressure to wind down stimulus. Shanghai, Tokyo and Frankfurt rose while London opened little-changed. Wall Street futures were higher after the benchmark S&P 500 index added 0.1% on Wednesday. The spread of the coronavirus’s delta variant and anti-disease measures have depressed hiring and consumer confidence. But that has reassured some investors the Fed and other central banks might postpone plans to wind down easy credit and other stimulus that has supported stock prices.

Body = Global stocks rose Thursday after soft U.S. jobs surveys fueled optimism the Federal Reserve might feel less pressure to wind down stimulus.