DJIA up 0.07% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - New York, 03 Jul - US shares opened little changed as investors digested another batch of jobs data in a curtailed trading session ahead of Independence Day.

Wall Street reached new highs yesterday after comments from the Federal reserve chief on inflation and a surge in Tesla's share price. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% to close above 5,500 for the first time ever while the tech-heavy Nasdaq also set an all-time high, rising 0.8% to close above 20,000.

The stock market has been lifted by comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledging inflation had slowed in recent months even if the central bank still needs to see more evidence easing is sustainable in time before pivoting on monetary policy. The remarks were interpreted widely as indicating the Fed may now be open to cutting interest rates sometime this year.

Sentiment today got a lift after jobless claims came in above expectations to rise for the ninth straight week while ADP data on jobs in the private sector came in below forecasts.

Both readings pointed to the US's resilient labour market showing signs of cooling.

Jobs are key to the debate about when the Fed can start cutting interest rates and whether it will be able to engineer a soft landing - taming inflation without triggering a recession. The focus now shifts to Friday's key employment report.

Treasury yields meanwhile are steady after climbing this week on a growing perception Trump is likely to win the US elections later this year following the poor showing by President Biden in the TV debate.

On the stocks front, Paramount shares surged 9% in early trade after Skydance Media reached a preliminary agreement to buy National Amusements and merge with the studio. Tesla was up another 2.7% after its 10% gains yesterday on stronger-than-expected deliveries data.

Markets close early today and will remain closed on July 4 for Independence Day.

Just after the opening bell the Dow Jones was up 27.10 points, or 0.07%, at 39,358.95, the S&P 500 was down 1.57 points, or 0.03%, at 5,507.44 while the Nasdaq was down 7.08 points, or 0.04%, at 18,021.69.

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(RADIOCOR) 03-07-24 15:38:09 (0500) 5 NNNN