US stocks open higher, extending rally

Wall Street stocks climbed early Friday, extending the market's upswing after a recent fiscal agreement involving the debt ceiling eased concerns about a sharp economic downturn.

Analysts pointed to better investor sentiment as equities from additional industrial sectors beyond technology show strength, and as markets bet on a benign outcome at next week's Federal Reserve policy meeting.

"The market is thoroughly convinced there will be no rate hikes, that the Fed is going to skip that meeting," said Quincy Krosby of LPL Financial.

About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2 percent at 33,890.27.

The broad-based S&P 500 added 0.5 percent at 4,313.97, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 0.9 percent to 13,354.10.

Among individual companies, shares of e-signature provider DocuSign advanced 1.4 percent as it reported a 12 percent jump in revenues, helped by higher sales tied to subscriptions and professional services.

Shares of electric vehicle charging company EVgo dropped 8.5 percent, while ChargePoint slid more than 11 percent.

This came as General Motors unveiled a partnership that allows its vehicles to access Tesla's EV charging network. Tesla shares jumped 5.9 percent.

 

AFP