U.S. stock benchmarks inched slightly higher on Thursday as investors contend with a barrage of risk factors, including Hurricane Irma, the European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and White House policy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 0.1% higher at 21,822, the S&P 500 index ticked 0.1% up at 2,467, the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.2% to 6,400. The ECB left key interest rates unchanged and said it expects them to remain at present levels for “extended period.” In the accompanying statement, which was virtually identical to the previous one, the central bank said that asset buying will continue at a €60 billion ($71 billion) a month through year-end or beyond and quantitative easing could be increased if the outlook deteriorates. Draghi’s comments during a Thursday news conference following the ECB’s policy statement sent the euro above $1.20 against the U.S. dollar. Meanwhile, Wall Street was still digesting President Donald Trump’s decision to extend the debt-limit deadline and fund the government through mid-December late Wednesday. The agreement raised hopes for more bipartisan deals that would allow the Trump administration to move forward with its promised economic reforms. However, it also raised concerns that divisiveness in the Republican party may limit further policy success, because other GOP leaders weren’t universally in favor of a short-term agreement. In corporate news, shares of GoPro Inc. rallied 18% after the wearable camera maker said it expects to be profitable on an adjusted basis in the third quarter. And Amazon’s shares rose 0.6% after it announced that it plans to open a second headquarters somewhere in North America that will house up to 50,000 employees and cost $5 billion to build. In meteorological news, Hurricane Irma, set to barrel down on Florida, comes two weeks after Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast, where damages are estimated by AccuWeather to be up to $190 billion. Irma is said to have already killed more than 8 people and could hit Florida this weekend.
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