Stock Open Up, GDP Tops Views

U.S. stocks opened up on Thursday, after a better-than-expected estimate on U.S. economic growth,  as well as a jobless-claims figure that roughly matched forecasts. The Dow Jones Industrial  Average lately gained 24.89 points, or 0.16%, to 15,771.77. The S&P 500 was down 0.55 point, or  0.03%, to 1,769.94. The Nasdaq Composite fell 10.93 points, or 0.28%, to 3,921.02.

U.S. economic growth accelerated in the third quarter as businesses restocked shelves but the  slowest expansion in consumer spending in two years pointed to an underlying weakness. Gross  domestic product expanded at a 2.8 percent annual rate, the quickest pace since the third quarter  of 2012, the Commerce Department said on Thursday.

The number of new applications for unemployment benefits fell by 9,000 to 336,000 in the week  ended Nov. 2, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Twitter, the quirky 140 character messaging service that’s become a global phenomenon, priced its  initial public offering at $26 a share, valuing the seven-year-old company at over $18B.

The European Central Bank cut interest rates to a new record low on Thursday, responding to a  slump in inflation, and said it would prime banks with liquidity for longer to prevent the euro  zone’s recovery from stalling.