NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks edged higher early Thursday following better US employment data and as the European Central Bank slowed stimulus purchases in light of the eurozone economic recovery.

First-time jobless claims fell 35,000 to 310,000 last week, seasonally adjusted, the Labor Department said, hitting a new pandemic low for the second straight week and putting them closer to their level before Covid-19 broke out.

Meanwhile, the ECB said it would slow the pace of its massive monthly bond purchases as it lifted its 2021 growth forecast following better-than-expected second-quarter growth.

About 25 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones industrial Average was up 0.2 percent at 35,105.86.

The broad-based S&P 500 advanced 0.2 percent to 4,524.11, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.3 percent at 15,329.41.

US stocks choppy ahead of Fed report

Markets have been choppy in recent sessions as investors weigh the fallout from the latest uptick in Covid-19 cases.

Gregori Volokhine of Meeschaert Financial Services said stocks are in a waiting game ahead of the Federal Reserve's meeting later in September, with Congress yet to take final action on President Joe Biden's massive infrastructure plan.

"It's a market in need of a catalyst," Volokhine said.

Major US carriers such as American Airlines and United Airlines were up around one percent despite warning of lower third-quarter sales due to the latest Covid-19 wave. However, analysts said the downcast company statements had been expected.