Stocks Opened Slightly Higher and Turned Negative

U.S. stocks opened slightly higher and turned negative on Thursday after economic news. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 30.47 points, or 0.15%, to 20,927.43. The S&P 500 was down 2.27 points, or 0.10%, to 2,385.86. The Nasdaq Composite list 9.93 points, or 0.16%, to 6,062.62.

New applications for U.S. jobless benefits fell sharply last week and the number of Americans on unemployment rolls hit a 17-year low, pointing to a tightening labor market that could allow the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next month. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 19,000 to a seasonally adjusted 238,000 for the week ended April 29, the Labor Department said.

The productivity of American firms and their employees fell in the first quarter at the fastest rate in a year, reflecting a cutback in the amount of goods and services made available to customers. U.S. productivity declined at a 0.6% annual pace in the first three months of 2017, the government said Thursday.

U.S. trade deficits in goods with Mexico and Japan hit the highest levels in March in almost a decade, though the nation’s trade gap overall was virtually unchanged. The deficit dipped 0.1% to $43.7 billion in March to reach a five-month low, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

Oil fell to its lowest since late November on Thursday, as concern over rising global supply and stubbornly high inventories effectively wiped out most of the gains made since OPEC announced its first supply cut in eight years. Light, sweet crude futures for delivery in June fell 43 cents, or 0.9%, to $47.38 a barrel. July Brent crude fell 46 cents, or 0.9%, to $50.34 a barrel.

Wearable device maker Fitbit Inc (FIT.N) reported quarterly revenue above its own forecast, and said launches planned for this year were on track. Fitbit’s revenue fell about 41 percent to $298.9 million in the latest quarter.