Stocks Opened Higher after Upbeat Earnings

U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday following upbeat earnings results from a number of major companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 15.17 points, or 0.08%, to 18,214.50. The S&P 500 gained 2.61 points, or 0.12%, to 2,142.04. The Nasdaq Composite added 11.53 points, or 0.22%, to 5,261.80.

Orders for long-lasting goods made in the U.S. fell slightly in September, largely because of lower demand for military hardware and computers. The Commerce Department said non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, fell 1.2 percent after three straight months of strong gains.

Twitter Inc. (TWTR) beat profit and sales expectations. The net loss for the quarter to Sept. 30 was $102.9 million, or 15 cents a share, compared with a loss of $131.7 million, or 20 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Revenue increased 8% to $616 million.

Oil prices edged up Thursday, supported by the surprise decline in U.S. inventories, suggesting that the global glut in supply is slowly being worked through. Light, sweet crude futures for delivery in December traded at $49.38 a barrel, up $0.20. December Brent crude rose $0.38 to $50.40 a barrel.

Ford Motor Co.’s net income fell 56% in the third quarter. Ford reported net income of nearly $1 billion for the period ended Sept. 30, down from $2.2 billion recorded in the same year-ago period.

United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) reported third-quarter earnings that rose to $1.27 billion, or $1.44 a share, from $1.26 billion, or $1.39 a share, in the same period a year ago. Revenue rose 4.9% to $14.9 billion from $14.2 billion.

Deutsche Bank AG on Thursday posted an unexpected profit and set aside more cash to cover litigation costs amid talks aimed at settling mortgage-securities probes with U.S. authorities. Third-quarter net income was EUR278 million ($303.1 million). That compared with a net loss of EUR6 billion during the same period last year.

Tesla Motors Inc. posted its best sales quarter ever ahead of efforts to raise additional cash that it will need to begin production of the Model 3 sedan.The auto maker said it delivered 15,800 Model S sedans and 8,700 Model X sport-utility vehicles during the July through September period.