Stocks Open Lower after Philly Fed Release

U.S. stocks started modestly lower on Thursday, as Wall Street turned from the latest fiscal drama on
Capitol Hill to corporate reports. The Dow industrials shed 104.62 points, or 0.68%, to 15,269.21. The S&P
500 index fell 4.60 points, or 0.27%, to 1,716.94. The Nasdaq Composite declined 10.86 points, or 0.28%, to 3,828.57.

The number of new applications for unemployment benefits fell by 15,000 to 358,000 in the second week of
October, but the elevated level of initial claims continued to reflect processing delays in California, the
Labor Department said Thursday.

U.S. Treasuries rallied in Europe on Thursday after a deal to avoid a U.S. default was seen as a stop-gap,
sparking long-term growth concerns that could delay Federal Reserve plans to reduce bond-buying stimulus.

Verizon Communications Inc on Thursday posted stronger- than-expected third-quarter earnings and revenue on strong wireless growth. Verizon reported a third-quarter profit of $2.2 billion, or 78 cents per share, compared with $1.59 billion, or 56 cents per share, a year ago.

Goldman Sachs third-quarter profit fell 2 percent as weak bond-trading volumes hit revenue in its biggest
business. The fifth-largest U.S. bank by assets reported a profit of $1.43 billion, or $2.88 per share,
beating the average analyst estimate of $2.43, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.Revenue from Goldman’s fixed income, currency and commodities business, fell 44 percent to $1.25 billion in the quarter ended Sept.  30.