Thursday's early trade: stocks slip; Snap set to start trading

US stocks slipped on Thursday as investors booked profits after a record day on Wall Street that propelled the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 21,000 for the first time ever. Wall Street's main indexes on Wednesday posted their best day since the November election, boosted by President Donald Trump's more measured tone in a speech to Congress and as bank stocks surged on increased chances of an interest rate hike this month.
A report from the Labour Department on Thursday showed that the number of Americans who applied for jobless claims fell to a 44-year low last week, pointing to continued strength in the labour market. Fed Board Governor Lael Brainard, who is typically dovish on rates, said on Wednesday that a move on rates could come "soon".
The odds for a move this month jumped to 74 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data. At 9:36 am ET (1436 GMT) the Dow was down 27.9 points, or 0.13 percent, at 21,087.65, the S&P 500 was down 6.77 points, or 0.28 percent, at 2,389.19 and the Nasdaq Composite was down 16.47 points, or 0.28 percent, at 5,887.56. Investors are awaiting the trading debut of Snap Inc, the owner of popular messaging app Snapchat, on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker. Snap on Wednesday priced its initial public offering above its target range, raising $3.4 billion and giving the company a $24 billion valuation.