Stocks Opened Higher after Strong Wal-Mart, Cisco Earnings

U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday after two days of losses, driven by strong earnings from Wal-Mart and Cisco. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 131.23 points, or 0.56%, to 23,402.51. The S&P 500 gained 11.59 points, or 0.45%, to 2,576.21. The Nasdaq Composite added 51.90 points, or 0.77%, to 6,758.11.

Oil prices showed little change Thursday, after a slump in the prior session that was blamed on a surprise jump in U.S. supplies. December West Texas Intermediate crude traded hands at $55.27 a barrel, down by 6 cents, or 0.1%. January Brent crude dipped by 13 cents, or 0.2%, to $61.74 a barrel.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N), the world’s largest retailer, reported better-than-expected quarterly sales at established U.S. stores on Thursday, boosted by hurricane-related purchases and soaring online sales. Excluding special items, earnings per share came to $1 in the third quarter ended Oct. 31.

Cisco Systems Inc. topped Wall Street estimates for the quarter and offered a forecast that would result in the first revenue growth in two years. Cisco reported fiscal first-quarter net income of $2.39 billion, or 48 cents a share, compared with $2.32 billion, or 46 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits edged up again last week to a still-low 249,000. Meanwhile, the overall number of people collecting unemployment benefits fell to a near 44-year low, further evidence that Americans enjoy job security. Applications for jobless aid rose by a seasonally adjusted 10,000 last week after a similar increase in the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

U.S. industrial production jumped a solid 0.9 percent in October as factory activity recovered from the impact of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The Federal Reserve said Thursday that manufacturing activity surged 1.3 percent last month.