Stocks Opened Mostly Lower as COVID-19 Cases Rose

U.S. stocks opened mostly lower on Thursday, with the Dow and S&P 500 dropping, as a continued rise in COVID-19 cases overshadowed optimism over progress toward a vaccine. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 182.62 points, or 0.62%, to 29,215.01. The S&P 500 was down 15.73 points, or 0.44%, to 3,556.93. The Nasdaq Composite added 4.38 points, or 0.04%, to 11,790.81.

Oil futures traded slightly lower Thursday, pausing this week’s rally as concern over rising COVID-19 cases overshadowed optimism around progress toward a vaccine against the disease. West Texas Intermediate crude fell was off 4 cents, or 0.1%, at $41.41 a barrel. January Brent crude was off 11 cents, or 0.3%, at $43.69 a barrel.

Another 709,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week, marking another modest improvement in the number of those newly unemployed even as coronavirus cases in the U.S. continue to creep higher.

The consumer price index was unchanged last month, the government said Thursday. The cost of living had risen sharply over a fourth-month span from June to September, but it was mostly just catching up after a sharp decline in prices early in the coronavirus pandemic. The yearly rate of inflation slowed to 1.2% in October from 1.4% in the prior month.