S&P 500 Index opens modestly higher, financial stocks post strong gains

• Major equity indexes in the US opened higher on Thursday.
• Financial stocks post strong gains after the opening bell.
• Healthcare Index is the only major sector trading in the negative territory.

Following Wednesday's decline, Wall Street's main indexes opened modestly higher on Thursday. As of writing, the S&P 500 was up 0.3% on the day at 4,415, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was rising 0.37% at 34,958 and the Nasdaq Composite was rising 0.23% at 14,814.

Supported by a 2% rebound seen in the 10-year US Treasury bond yield, the S&P 500 Financials Index is up more than 1% as the best performing major sector. Moreover, the Energy Index is also posting strong gains amid softening selling pressure surrounding crude oil prices. 

On the other hand, the Healthcare Index is the only major sector trading in the negative territory, losing 0.4% on a daily basis.

Earlier in the day, the data published by the US Department of Labor showed that the Initial Jobless Claims declined to 385,000 in the week ending July 31 from 399,000.

S&P 500 chart (daily)