Stocks Opened Little Changed in Final Session of 2020

U.S. stocks opened little changed on Thursday with the final session of the year under way. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately declined 26.16 points, or 0.1%, to 30,398. The S&P 500 edged down 1.40 points, or 0.04%, to 3,730.64. The Nasdaq Composite fell 23.84 points, or 0.19%, to 12,846.16.

Oil futures traded modestly lower Thursday, with crude set to end 2020 down by more than 20% for the year that saw demand slammed by the COVID-19 pandemic which restricted travel and business and consumer activity. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was down 43 cents, or 0.9%, to $47.97 a barrel. March Brent crude was down 50 cents, or 1%, at $51.13 a barrel.

Jobless claims unexpectedly fell last week but still held at a historically elevated level. Initial jobless claims filed traditionally through the states slipped by 17,000 to 787,000 in the seven days ended Dec. 26, the government said Thursday.