Stocks Opened Slightly Higher after Jobless Claims Data

U.S. stocks open slightly higher on Thursday, as data showed new weekly jobless claims continued to decline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 64.39 points, or 0.20%, to 31,502.19. The S&P 500 was up 13.14 points, or 0.34%, to 3,923.02. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 75.24 points, or 0.54%, to 14,047.77.

Oil futures lost ground Thursday, putting major benchmarks on track to end an extended run of gains. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery fell 35 cents, or 0.6%, to $58.33 a barrel. April Brent crude was off 41 cents, or 0.7%, at $61.06 a barrel.

Another 793,000 Americans filed for new unemployment claims for the week ended Feb 6. New weekly jobless claims fell relative to the prior week’s level, which was upwardly revised to 812,000 from the 779,000 previously reported.

Kraft Heinz (KHC) posted fourth-quarter results that handily topped estimates, as consumers mostly eating at home helped stoke retail sales and offset ongoing declines in sales to restaurants. Fourth-quarter organic revenue grew 6%, reversing course after sliding 2.2% in the same quarter last year.