Stocks Opened Slightly Lower after Jobless Claims Data

U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Thursday after data showed weekly jobless claims unexpectedly climbed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately retreated 47.27 points, or 0.18%, to 26,958.57. The S&P 500 fell 1.52 points, or 0.05%, to 3,274.50. The Nasdaq Composite declined 19.91 points, or 0.19%, to 10,686.22.

Oil futures drifted lower Thursday, after data showed an unexpected rise in U.S. crude inventories and a drop in gasoline demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery fell 23 cents, or 0.6%, to $41.67 a barrel, while September Brent crude was off 12 cents, or 0.3%, at $44.17 a barrel.

The level of new jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week. Another 1.416 million Americans filed for first-time unemployment insurance benefits, up from just over 1.3 million the prior week, to mark the first increase in new claims on a week over week basis since March.