: U.S. stocks open higher as investors weigh jobless claims data

U.S. stocks opened higher Thursday as investors weigh a report showing a drop in weekly jobless claims. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA was up 0.3% soon after the opening bell, while the S&P 500 SPX climbed 0.8% and the Nasdaq Composite COMP gained 1.1%, according to FactSet data, at last check. The Department of Labor said Thursday that initial jobless claims fell during the week ended Feb. 18 to 192,000. Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast that claims would rise to 197,000.

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