US stocks trend higher on easing trade war fears

Major US equity indices opened higher on Thursday and were being supported by easing fears of a possible global trade. 

A White House spokeswoman said on Wednesday that the US President Donald Trump's recently announced tariffs may exclude key trading partners, like Canada and Mexico, and prompted some short-covering bounce during the early hour of trade. 

Meanwhile, concerns about an uptick in inflation, which could force the Fed to opt for a faster rate tightening cycle, might continue to weigh on investors' sentiment and dent demand for riskier assets - like equities. 

Moreover, traders might also refrain from placing aggressive bets ahead of Friday's official jobs data, popularly known as NFP, which might further collaborate towards keeping a lid on any further up-move. 

Nevertheless, all the three major indices - the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the broader S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, held with gains of anywhere between 0.3% to 0.5% during the early hour or trade.