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S&P 500, NASDAQ EDGE UP EARLY AS MEGACAPS GAIN

The S&P 500 .SPX and Nasdaq .IXIC are slightly higher in early trading on Thursday as Nvidia NVDA.O and other megacap names are rising, while Honeywell HON.N shares fell after a disappointing forecast. The Dow .DJI is slightly red.

Honeywell shares are down more than 4% early. A Bloomberg report that it expected to reveal plans to separate its aerospace business.

Amazon.com AMZN.O is due to report after the market's close, with eyes expected to be on its cloud computing results.

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits increased moderately last week, consistent with steadily easing labor market conditions, though opportunities for those out of work are becoming scarce amid tepid hiring.

In any event, the majority of S&P 500 companies are beating analysts' expectations on earnings, but worries about higher inflation remain amid President Donald Trump's tariff plans.

Here is the early market snapshot:

(Caroline Valetkevitch)

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FOR THURSDAY'S EARLIER LIVE MARKETS POSTS:

BENCHMARK TREASURY YIELD FLIRTING WITH THE CLOUDS - CLICK HERE

HERE COMES THE BOE... - CLICK HERE

GERMAN FISCAL EASING SCENARIOS: MODEST LIFT OR BOOST? - CLICK HERE

JAPAN: SMALL (AND MEDIUM) IS BEAUTIFUL - CLICK HERE

BUY EUROPE: STOXX, FTSE SCALE NEW PEAKS - CLICK HERE

BEFORE THE BELL: MIXED BANK EARNINGS, BOE AWAITED - CLICK HERE

FOCUS SWINGS BACK TO RATE MOVES, COMPANY EARNINGS - CLICK HERE