US stock indexes move higher in early trading
Source: AP-Excite
By ALEX VEIGA
U.S. stocks climbed in early trading Thursday, snapping a three-day losing streak. Investors sized up the latest batch of corporate earnings and applauded a government report indicating that applications for unemployment benefits fell to a 15-year low last week. Technology companies rose the most.
KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average rose 127 points, or 0.7 percent, to 18,188 as of 10:06 a.m. Eastern time. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 10 points, or 0.5 percent, to 2,108. The Nasdaq composite added 22 points, or 0.5 percent, to 5,004.
UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS: The Labor Department said that fewer people applied for unemployment aid last week, pushing the four-week average down to its lowest level since April 2000. Applications are a proxy for layoffs, so the very low level is evidence that Americans are enjoying more job security. It is also a sign employers are confident enough in the economy to hold on to their employees, despite signs of sluggish growth.
SECTOR MONIOR: Nine of the 10 sectors in the S&P 500 moved higher. Technology stocks led the pack. Consumer discretionary stocks declined.
FULL story at link.
FILE - This April 22, 2010, file photo, shows a Wall Street sign in front of the New York Stock Exchange. Stocks are rising in early trading on Wall Street Thursday, May 14, 2015, snapping a three-day losing streak. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
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