U.S. STOCKS OPEN IN THE GREEN TERRITORY AFTER HOUSING DATA; FED MINUTES ON TAP

U.S. stocks opened higher Wednesday ahead of minutes from the Federal Reserve. Market players were also evaluating data from the U.S. housing market, as well as comments from Federal Reserve officials.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened 29 points, or 0.2%, higher at 17,518, while the S&P 500 index was up 5 points, or 0.3%, at 2,056. The Nasdaq Composite Index started up 19 points, or 0.4%, to 5,005.

Shares of Norfolk Southern Corp. jumped 5.6% after Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. on Tuesday proposed a merger to create a transcontinental railroad company with potential for stronger earnings growth.

Earlier, Federal Reserve Bank of New York president William Dudley said he did not expect a huge surprise or big market reaction when the rise does happen.

And Cleveland Fed president Loretta Mester said the US economy could now handle a modest 25 basis point increase.

Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart, who supported a rate increase in September but backed consensus for standing pat the following month, has said there is more data to evaluate before deciding whether to raise rates in December.

U.S. housing starts in October fell to a seven-month low as single-family home construction in the South dropped. Meanwhile, a surge in building permits suggested the housing market remained robust.

The U.S. Commerce Department said on Wednesday that groundbreaking dropped 11% to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.06 million units, the lowest since March.

Still, October was the seventh consecutive month that starts stayed above 1 million units, the longest streak since 2007, suggesting a sustainable housing market recovery.

The sector is supported by rapidly rising household formation, mostly driven by young adults leaving their parental homes and a tightening labor market.

While residential construction accounts for only over 3% of gross domestic product, housing has a broader reach in the economy, with increasing home prices boosting household wealth and thus buoying consumer spending.

Housing has added to GDP growth in each of the last six quarters and is eclipsing some of the slowdown from a weak manufacturing sector.

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U.S. STOCKS OPEN HIGHER FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE SESSION ON EARNINGS, ECONOMIC DATA

U.S. stocks opened slightly higher on Tuesday, following rising global equities, as well as economic data from the U.S.

The S&P 500 opened 1 point or less than 0.1%, higher at 2,053. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 20 points, or 0.1%, to 17,505. The Nasdaq Composite began the day up 3 points, or 0.1%, at 4,987.

Investors assessed positive earnings report from retailers such as TJX Companies and Wal-Mart Stores and a couple of mixed economic reports.

Consumer prices in the U.S. rose for the first time in three months, - up 0.2%, core prices also added 0.2%.

Industrial production in the U.S. fell in October, dipping by 0.2% after a 0.2% decline in September. That compares to expectations of a 0.1% rise last month.

In Europe, stock markets have bounced sharply today, as investors put aside concerns that last week’s terror attacks will hurt the global recovery.

France's CAC 40 was the leader rising 2.33%, while Spain's IBEX 35 rose 2.15%. British FTSE 100 and German DAX added around 1.8%, while Italy's FTSE MIB climbed 1.88%.

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WALL STREET OPENS LOWER AS GLOBAL STOCKS, OIL SLIDE

U.S. stocks opened lower on Thursday closely tracking declining global equities and commodities.

The S&P 500 opened 11 points, or 0.5%, lower at 2,063. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 125 points, or 0.7, to 17,576. The Nasdaq Composite began the day down 24 points, or 0.5%, at 5,042.

Oil futures continued their slide, falling nearly 3% on top of yesterday's 3% drop.

December Nymex crude oil futures last traded at $41.90 per barrel, down 2.4%.

Brent futures for January delivery lost 1.91% to trade at $45.78 a barrel.

Meanwhile, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said it was prudent to raise rates and shrink the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet toward more “normal settings”.

Richmond Fed president Jeffrey Lacker said earlier Thursday that a weak Philips curve relationship does not reduce the Federal Reserve's ability to determine inflation over time. The Phillips Curve is the relationship between unemployment and inflation. In the simplest definition, the lower that unemployment goes, the higher inflation goes.

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U.S. STOCKS OPEN LOWER WITH S&P 500 ON TRACK FOR FIFTH CONSECUTIVE DECLINE

U.S. stocks opened in the red territory on Tuesday with the benchmark S&P 500 on track to post its fifth day of declines.

A steep fall on Monday followed a modest recovery as investors continue to reflect on whether the U.S. Federal Reserve will hike borrowing costs in December.

At the beginning of the session, the S&P 500 was 2 points, or 0.1%, lower at 2,075. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 36 points, or 0.2%, to 17,696. The Nasdaq Composite began the day down 23 points, or 0.5%, at 5,072.

Earlier, data showed that U.S. imports declined more than expected last month, as costs of petroleum and a series of goods declined, a sign that a firm dollar and soft global demand continued to exert downward pressure on imported inflation.

Strong greenback and a steep decline in oil prices have weighed on inflation, which is still below the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target.

However, analysts generally agree that weak inflation pressures will hardly prevent the U.S. central bank from raising interest rates next month after job growth surged in October and the unemployment rate fell to 7-1/2-year lows of 5.0 percent.

Fed policy-makers are now given confidence that inflation will gradually move toward its target, since the labor market is tightening.

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U.S. STOCKS OPEN LOWER AS INVESTORS DIGEST EARNINGS, ECONOMIC REPORTS

U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Tuesday as investors digested a slew of earnings reports and better-than-expected housing data.

The S&P 500 opened 3 points, or 0.1%, lower at 2,030. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 40 points, or 0.2%, to 17,190. The Nasdaq Composite began the day down 6 points, or 0.1%, at 4,898.

U.S. housing starts jumped to a nearly an eight-year high in September as builders ramped up construction of apartments.

The Commerce Department reported that housing starts rose 6.5% to 1.206 million units last month from August’s total of 1.132 million units, while analysts had expected 1.140 million.

The number of building permits released dropped by 5.0% to 1.103 million units from August’s total of 1.170 million. Economists expected building permits to fall by 0.9% to 1.164 million units in July.

The third-quarter earnings season was set to enter its peak on Tuesday, with 20 companies slated to report, says S&P Capital IQ.

For the third-quarter reporting season so far, aggregate earnings for the S&P 500 stand at $28.62 per share, down 4.77% from a year earlier, according to data from S&P Capital IQ. That’s 64 basis points better since last Monday, when the first full week of earnings season began.

More than 110 companies are expected to release earnings this week.

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WALL STREET OPENS HIGHER AS INVESTORS DIGEST ECONOMIC DATA

U.S. stocks opened higher Thursday as investors weighed earnings from big banks and economic data.

The S&P 500 rose 7 points, or 0.3%, to 2,001, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 18 points, or 0.1%, to 16,942. The Nasdaq Composite added 26 points, or 0.6%, to 4,809.

Earlier, data showed first-time claims for U.S. jobless benefits matched the lowest level since 1973. Separately, data showed the consumer price index fell by 0.2% in September.

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