Geoffrey Smith 

Investing.com — The U.S. stock market opened higher Thursday, but there are signs that the exuberant rally after Wednesday’s Federal Reserve decisions is slowing down.

The index was at 36,000 points by 9:44 ET (1440 GMT) and had risen 117 points. While the index was 0.2% higher, it was 0.3% lower. The Federal Reserve’s announcement that its bond purchases will cease by March means all three indices saw sharp increases on Wednesday. It also paved the way for its projected three quarter point interest rate rises prior to the end next year.

A backdrop of relative economic strength was used by the Fed to make its decisions. This trend was also reflected in Thursday’s data from the housing and labor markets. While the number of people receiving regular unemployment benefits grew by more than 150,000 last week, they fell to 1.845mil. It was their lowest point since the beginning of the pandemic. 

Additionally, November numbers were stronger than anticipated, with the number of housing starts increasing to their highest level since March, as well as rising by 3.6% for the month.