Stocks Opened Slightly Higher after Economic Reports

U.S. stocks opened slightly higher on Thursday after a pair of economic reports showed continued strength in the labor market but falling domestic productivity. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 8.77 points, or 0.05%, to 18,392.11. The S&P 500 was off 1.98 points, or 0.09%, to 2,168.97. The Nasdaq Composite gained 9.70 points, or 0.19%, to 5,222.92.

The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits last week rose by 2,000 to 263,000, but the level of layoffs remained near post-recession lows that showed the labor market is still fairly robust.

The productivity of American businesses and workers fell 0.6% in the second quarter instead of 0.5%, revised government figures show. Productivity has also shown the biggest one-year decline since 2013, down 0.4% over the past four quarters.

The market for tech acquisitions is booming in 2016 as legacy technology companies shed old assets and consolidate, and companies in other industries scoop up tech assets at a historic pace. The trend of tech megadeals from 2015 continued into the first half of 2016, according to new data from global audit firm EY.