Stocks Opened Higher as Oil Prices Rallied

U.S. stocks opened sharply higher on Thursday, tracking a surge in crude oil prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
lately gained 136.55 points, or 0.86%, to 16,081.01. The S&P 500 rose 17.53 points, or 0.93%, to 1,900.48. The Nasdaq
Composite was up 46.90 points, or 1.05%, to 4,515.06.

Oil futures rallied on Thursday after unconfirmed reports that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
and producers outside the cartel will meet in February to discuss a cut to production. Crude oil futures jumped to as
high as $34.82 immediately after the report, and were up 5.1% at $33.93 a barrel at the latest. Brent jumped 5.2% to
$35.70 barrel.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell from a six-month high last week, suggesting the labor
market recovery remains intact. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped to a seasonally adjusted
278,000 in the week ended Jan. 23 from 294,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods tumbled in December as lower oil prices and softer global demand
put more pressure on factories. The Commerce Department said on Thursday that durable goods orders declined 5.1
percent last month.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s (BABA.N) third-quarter revenue rose 32 percent, beating
analysts’ average estimate, helped by strong holiday sales. Net income attributable to shareholders reached $1.93
billion, or 76 cents per share. Revenue rose to 34.53 billion yuan in the quarter ended Dec. 31.

Facebook Inc’s (FB.O) shares surged 12 percent in premarket trading on Thursday, after smashing ad sales powered the company’s quarterly results. Facebook said mobile ads accounted for 80 percent of total ad revenue in the quarter,
compared with 69 percent a year earlier. Of the 1.59 billion monthly active users as of Dec. 31, 1.44 billion used
the service on mobile devices – a 21 percent jump.