Stocks Opened Lower, Oil Prices Headed Higher

U.S. stocks opened lower on Thursday as investors digested a weekly report on the labor market and eyed rising coronavirus cases in major regions throughout the country. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately retreated 251.17 points, or 0.96%, to 25,868.44. The S&P 500 was down 17.79 points, or 0.57%, to 3,095.70. The Nadsdaq Composite fell 13.99 points, or 0.14%, to 9,896.54.

Crude-oil prices headed modestly higher on Thursday as the energy market turned its focus to an OPEC-led meeting of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee, or JMMC. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery edged up 17 cents, or 0.5%, to trade at $38.12 a barrel. Brent oil for August delivery picked up 34 cents, or 0.8%, at $41.05 a barrel.

Another 1.508 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the week ending June 13, the Labor Department said Thursday. The prior week’s figure was revised higher to 1.57 million from the previously reported 1.54 million jobless claims.