Stocks Opened Higher to Start November on a High Note

U.S. stocks opened modestly higher on Thursday to start November on a positive note. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately advanced 104.59 points, or 0.42%, to 25,220.35. The S&P 500 added 10.45 points, or 0.39%, to 2,722.19. The Nasdaq Composite gained 21.20 points, or 0.29%, to 7,327.10.

Oil futures remained under pressure Thursday as the new month got under way, building on an October rout that left crude with its biggest monthly decline in more than two years. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery fell 35 cents, or 0.5%, to $64.96 a barrel. Brent crude for January delivery fell 75 cents, or 1%, to $74.29 a barrel.

Spotify (SPOT) on Thursday reported a modest 5 percent rise in premium subscribers for its third quarter, while revenue and gross margins were roughly in line with market expectations. Monthly subscribers rose to 87 million, up from 83 million in the quarter ending June. Third-quarter revenue rose 31 percent to 1.352 billion euros ($1.54 billion). Gross margins rose to 25.3 percent from 22.3 percent in the third quarter of 2017.