Stocks Opened Slightly Lower amid Jobless Claims Data

U.S. stocks opened slightly lower on Thursday after weekly jobless claims report, which showed a bigger than expected improvement in new weekly claims. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately was up 5.40 points, or 0.02%, to 29,105.90. The S&P 500 fell 23.27 points, or 0.65%, to 3,557.57. The Nasdaq Composite declined 210.07 points, or 1.74%, to 11,846.38.

Oil futures fell Thursday, as the U.S. dollar bounced and worries remained over the outlook for demand. West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery dropped 98 cents, or 2.4%, to trade at $40.53 a barrel. November Brent declined 96 cents, or 2.2%, to $43.47 a barrel.

New applications for unemployment insurance appeared to fall in the latest week. The Labor Department said Thursday that seasonally adjusted initial claims fell 130,000 in the latest week, to 881,000, from an upwardly revised 1 million a week earlier.