Stocks Opened Higher after Economic Data

U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday after closing in the red Wednesday following the Federal Reserve’s latest policy decision to raise interest rates and as Wall Street absorbed a wave of economic reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 74.77 points, or 0.28%, to 26,460.05. The S&P 500 gained 13.27 points, or 0.46%, to 2,919.24. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 64.76 points, or 0.81%, to 8,055.12.

Oil prices climbed early Thursday, maintaining four-year highs, after a U.S. official said the sale of domestic oil reserves wouldn’t be used to undercut a rally in crude. November West Texas crude rose 78 cents, or 1.1%, to reach $72.37 a barrel. November Brent rose 65 cents, or 0.8%, at $81.44 a barrel.

The Federal Reserve increased the benchmark interest rate for the third time this year, raising the rate 25 basis points to a range of 2% to 2.25% and signaling it may continue to increase rates through 2019.

The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits in late September rose to the highest level since early August. Initial jobless claims, a rough substitute for layoffs, rose 12,000 to 214,000 in the seven days ended Sept. 22.

The U.S. economy grew at a robust annual rate of 4.2 percent in the second quarter, the best performance in nearly four years, though economists believe growth has slowed in the current quarter partly because of a drag from trade.

Orders for long-lasting U.S. factory goods rose at a healthy pace last month, though the increase was mostly driven by a surge in aircraft demand.The Commerce Department said Thursday that orders increased 4.5 percent in August, the most in six months.

U.S. auto sales in September likely fell 6 percent from the same month last year as dealerships felt the mixed impact of hurricanes both this year and in 2017, industry consultants J.D. Power and LMC Automotive said on Thursday.

Rally Rd., a digital investment platform allowing users to purchase equity shares in collectible and luxury vehicles, raised $7 million in new funding to expand its offering of assets and launch brick-and-mortar locations.