Stocks Opened Higher; Jobless Claims at Five Month High
- Thursday, December 10, 2015, 11:05
- Stock Market
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U.S. stocks opened slightly higher on Thursday as investors remained cautious in light of volatility in commodity markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average latel rose 34.64 points, or 0.20%, to 17,526.94. The S&P 500 was up 3.49 points, or 0.17%, to 2,051.11. The Nasdaq Composite gained 11.26 points, or 0.22%, to 5,034.13.
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose to a five-month high last week. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 282,000 for the week ended Dec. 5, the highest level since early July, the Labor Department said.
Yum Brands Inc (YUM.N) said it planned to return up to $6.2 billion to shareholders before completing the separation of its China business, which is expected by the end of 2016. Same-store sales fell 1 percent at KFC outlets and 9 percent at Pizza Hut restaurants.
Oil fell on Thursday, as oversupply concerns persisted, and prices were seen as vulnerable to further weakness in the run up to year-end. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) U.S. crude futures (CLc1) were down 43 cents at $36.73 per barrel, erasing early gains. WTI is down around 13 percent this month.
Ciena Corp. posted a downbeat revenue forecast but narrowed its loss in its latest quarter as the telecom-equipment maker continues to adapt to cloud-based and mobile-based networking demands. Ciena on Thursday issued fiscal first-quarter revenue guidance of $555 million to $590 million. For the most-recent period, Ciena reported a loss of $13.8 million, or 10 cents a share, compared with a loss of $30.7 million, or 29 cents, a year earlier.
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