The New York Stock Exchange opened with no clear direction on Thursday, as traders absorbed the latest economic data ahead of the Good Friday holiday

The New York Stock Exchange opened without a clear direction on Thursday as traders processed the latest economic data ahead of the Good Friday holiday. After initial trading, the flagship index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, edged up 0.2% to 39,829.51 points. The broader S&P 500 index, comprising the top 500 companies, remained unchanged at 5,247.74, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq declined 0.2%, settling at 16,363.03 units.

Wall Street closed strongly on Wednesday after three sessions in the red: the Dow Jones rose 1.22% to 39,760.08 points, the Nasdaq advanced 0.51% to 16,399.52, and the S&P 500 set a new record with an increase of 0.86% to 5,248.49 units.

The revision reflects improvements in consumption, non-residential fixed investment, and state and local government spending.

The US economy is growing at a pace higher than what Federal Reserve authorities consider the non-inflationary expansion rate of 1.8% and continues to outperform its global counterparts, despite the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes of 525 basis points since March 2022.

When measured from an income perspective, the economy grew at a robust rate of 4.8 percent.

In another report released this Thursday, the Department of Labor stated that initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted figure of 210,000 for the week ending March 23rd. Economists had anticipated 212,000 claims for the latest week.

Since February, claims have ranged between 200,000 and 213,000. Most companies are retaining their workers despite the significant layoffs at the beginning of the year.

The number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid, an indicator of hiring, increased by 24,000 to 1.81 million during the week ending March 16th, according to the claims report.