: U.S. stocks open lower as investors weigh jobless claims, labor productivity reports

U.S. stocks opened lower Thursday, as investors assessed data showing a slight rise in jobless claims as well as an economic report on labor productivity during the second quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA was down 0.3% soon after the bell, while the S&P 500 SPX fell 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite COMP dropped 0.5%, according to FactSet data, at last check. Initial jobless claims rose by 6,000 to 227,000 in the week ended July 29, according to a Department of Labor report Thursday. Meanwhile, labor productivity increased during the second quarter at a 3.7% annual rate, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday.

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