S&P 500 Index opens little changed, Nasdaq rises supported by tech stocks

• Wall Street’s main indexes trade mixed on Thursday.
• Weekly Jobless Claims data helps market mood remain upbeat.
• Nasdaq Composite trades in the positive territory amid rising tech shares.

Major equity indexes started the day on a mixed note on Thursday as investors assess the latest Jobless Claims data and the lack of progress in coronavirus aid talks. As of writing, the S&P 500 was virtually unchanged on the day at 3,380, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.15% at 27,938 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.4% on the day.

Earlier in the day, the data published by the US Department of Labor showed that there were 963,000 applications for unemployment benefits in the week ending August 8th. This marked the first reading below one million for the first time since March.

On the other hand, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told CNBC that coronavirus aid talks were still at a stalemate.

Among the 11-major S&P 500 sectors, the Healthcare Index and the Energy Index both lose around 0.5% in the early trade. On the other hand, the Communication Services Index is up 0.8%.

S&P 500 chart (daily)