Stocks Opened Higher on Strong Economic Data

U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday, after reports showed that the U.S. economy grew faster than initially thought in the second quarter and the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately jumped 197.95 points, or 1.22%, to 16,483.46. The S&P 500 gained 26.61 points, or 1.37%, to 1,967.12. The Nasdaq Composite rose 72.52 points, or 1.54%, to 4,770.06.

The U.S. economy grew faster than initially thought in the second quarter on solid domestic demand, showing fairly strong momentum that could still allow the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates this year. Gross domestic product expanded at a 3.7 percent annual pace instead of the 2.3 percent rate reported last month, the Commerce Department said on Thursday.

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, pointing to a steadily firming labor market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 271,000 for the week ended Aug. 22, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

Oil prices jumped more than 4.5 percent on Thursday after a rally in equity markets and an unexpected fall in U.S. crude inventories. Front-month Brent (LCOc1), the global oil benchmark, was up $1.80 at $44.94 a barrel by 1255 GMT.

Tiffany & Co. said profit slid 15% in its latest quarter, as the luxury brand continues to struggle with a stronger dollar’s effect on sales. The company reported a profit of $104.9 million, or 81 cents a share, down from $124.1 million, or 96 cents, a year earlier.

Copper producer Freeport-McMoRan Inc. is lowering its spending and production as it deals with declining copper prices and soft economic conditions worldwide. It will reduce copper sales by about 150 million pounds per year in 2016 and 2017 and cut 2016 unit site production by 20 percent.