Stocks Opened Lower ahead of Fed Minutes

U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Thursday as investors were cautious ahead of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy-setting meeting. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 23.42 points, or 0.14%, to 16,888.87. The S&P 500 shed 5.09 points, or 0.26%, to 1,990.74. The Nasdaq Composite was down 19.56 points, or 0.41%, to 4,771.59.

The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits fell more than expected to near a 42  year low last week, pointing to ongoing tightening in the labor market despite the recent slowdown in hiring. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 263,000 for the week ended Oct. 3, the Labor Department said.

U.S. holiday season sales will increase by 3.7 percent in 2015, marking slightly slower growth than last year as consumers fret about a potential government shutdown and sluggish income growth, the leading retail industry group said on Thursday. The National Retail Federation (NRF) forecast sales from November to December 2015 at $630.5 billion, excluding autos, gas and restaurant sales.

Dell Inc, the world’s third-biggest personal computer maker, would make an offer of more than $27 per share for data storage company EMC Corp , CNBC reported.