(Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange opened in small increases Thursday, investors awaiting the monthly report on American employment scheduled for Friday, which could provide indices on the impact of President Donald Trump’s commercial policies and on the trajectory of interest rates of the Federal Reserve (Fed).

In the first exchanges, the Dow Jones index earns 60.49 points, or 0.14% to 42,488.23 points and the Standard & Poor’s 500, wider, increased from 0.26% to 5,986.48 points.

The Nasdaq Composite takes 0.30% or 58.23 points, at 19,518.72 points.

Investors this week digit out a wide range of data on American employment, which will culminate Friday with the publication of the monthly report of the Labor Department, against the backdrop of fears concerning the impact of trade tensions on the health of the largest economy in the world.

In the meantime, the markets have learned on Thursday that unemployment registrations have increased for the second consecutive week in the United States, which indicates a weakening of market conditions in an increasingly unfavorable economic climate.

Investors on Wednesday, investors had already taken note of new little encouraging data on the creation of jobs in the private sector, which led US President Donald Trump to once again ask the President of the American Federal Reserve (Fed), Jerome Powell, to reduce guiding rates.

In Europe, the European Central Bank (ECB), as expected, announced Thursday a new reduction in its deposit rate to bring it to 2.0% and has kept all the options on the table for its next meetings while examining the impact of the commercial policy on the economy of the euro zone.

Trade tensions continue to occupy the attention of investors, on the lookout for any sign of progress in negotiations.

Investors will thus follow the visit of the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Washington, where the conservative leader will have his first one-on-one meeting on Thursday with American president Donald Trump, while Europe tries to escape American customs duties

Chinese President Xi Jinping also maintained on Thursday on the phone with his American counterpart Donald Trump on the initiative of the latter, the China New Agency reported, without specifying the content of their conversation.

At the values, Kimberly-Clark, the manufacturer of the Kleenex handkerchiefs, loses 3.4% after having concluded an agreement with the Brazilian manufacturer of Suzano paper pulp for the sale of majority participation in its international activity of fabric paper.

The Procter & Gamble CO action, which announced Thursday the abolition of 7,000 jobs in the next two years, cedes 1.14%.

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(Written by Diana Mandiá, edited by Blandine Hénault)

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