U.S. stocks opened slightly higher on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq rising as Google shares gained on a significant antitrust ruling that boosted investor confidence in the tech giant.
Summary
- Nasdaq rose as Google got a huge boost from an antitrust ruling.
- The stock market however remained largely muted amid trade policy and interest rates concerns.
The Nasdaq rose 0.8% to lead the slight bounce for major U.S. gauges, with the tech-heavy index gaining amid an uptick in Google shares. As Wall Street awaited the latest jobs data, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered near the flatline, while the S&P 500 rose 0.3%.
Stocks struggled on Tuesday as the holiday-shortened week began on a downbeat note.
Google ruling buoys Nasdaq
Nasdaq rose as shares of Alphabet, the Google parent company, rose 8% in early trading, continuing higher following an antitrust ruling.
On Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that Alphabet does not have to sell Google’s Chrome browser. However, Google may not enter exclusive deals for the popular browser and must also share search data.
Apple stock also gained after the antitrust ruling allowed Google to continue paying the iPhone maker to preload Google Search on iPhones as the default for Safari and Siri.
Investors eye jobs data
Also notable in early trading is the rise in yields. The 30-year U.S. Treasury yield jumped to 4.99%, just shy of the crucial 5% level. Meanwhile, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hovered above 4.29% as Wall Street showed concerns about tariff policy and interest rates.
The Federal Reserve is largely expected to cut rates this month. However, with recent macroeconomic data in focus, jitters persist.
Adding to the anticipation is the upcoming JOLTS job openings report. The monthly survey of U.S. job openings by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics drops at 10 a.m. on Sept. 3. The August jobs data will be released on Friday.
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