Stocks Opened Higher as China Cut Tariffs

U.S. stocks opened modestly higher on Thursday, after China announced plans to cut tariffs on $75 billion in US goods. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately advanced 24.47 points, or 0.08%, to 29,315.32. The S&P 500 rose 3.62 points, or 0.11%, to 3,338.31. The Nasdaq Composite was up 8.34 points, or 0.09%, to 9,517.02.

Oil futures traded mixed Thursday morning as a committee made up of representatives of OPEC and its allies advocated for cuts to global production to stabilize slumping crude values. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery gained 23 cents, or 0.5%, at $50.97 a barrel. April Brent crude was off 9 cents at $55.19 a barrel.

Twitter (TWTR) posted fourth-quarter revenue and user growth that exceeded consensus expectations, driven by a jump in ad sales from the company’s home market. Twitter’s (TWTR) revenue for the quarter totaled $1.01 billion. Net income came to $119 million, or 15 cents a share, down from $255 million, or 33 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter.