Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened steady to higher in light trade on Friday, after Thursday's data showing that U.S. initial jobless claims fell to the lowest level since January 2008 eased concerns over the strength of the job market in the world's first economy.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.05%, the S&P 500 index eased up 0.01%, while the Nasdaq Composite index added 0.26%.
On Thursday, the Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 323,000, compared to expectations for an increase of 8,000 to 335,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised up to 327,000 from a previously reported increase of 324,000.
The data, coming after last week’s stronger than expected U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, eased concerns over a slowdown in the labor market.
Among earnings, Priceline.com surged 2.67% after the travel website topped quarterly expectations, but handed in a weaker-than-expected forecast for the second quarter, due to global expansion costs.
Also in the Internet sector, Yahoo shares jumped 1.18% amid reports the company's Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer is exploring whether to bid for the Hulu LLC streaming-TV service.
According to Bloomberg, Amazon.com, up 0.83%, has also expressed an interest in Hulu.
Among tech stocks, Dell shares climbed 0.52% following reports billionaire investor Carl Icahn is teaming up with Southeastern Asset Management to bid for the tech company, proposing an alternative to the USD24.4 billion buyout proposed by founder Michael Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake partners.
Elsewhere, financial stocks were mostly higher as Citigroup inched up 0.02% and Goldman Sachs added 0.27%, while Bank of America rose 0.31%.
JP Morgan underperformed on the other hand, slipping 0.18% as the U.S. lender was sued by California over claims it pursued lawsuits against defaulted borrowers based on insufficient evidence.
Other stocks in focus included Gold Fields, scheduled to report earnings later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 edged up 0.10%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.21%, Germany's DAX inched 0.05% higher, while Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.11%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.47%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index surged 2.93%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on the federal budget balance.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.05%, the S&P 500 index eased up 0.01%, while the Nasdaq Composite index added 0.26%.
On Thursday, the Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week fell by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 323,000, compared to expectations for an increase of 8,000 to 335,000.
Jobless claims for the preceding week were revised up to 327,000 from a previously reported increase of 324,000.
The data, coming after last week’s stronger than expected U.S. nonfarm payrolls report, eased concerns over a slowdown in the labor market.
Among earnings, Priceline.com surged 2.67% after the travel website topped quarterly expectations, but handed in a weaker-than-expected forecast for the second quarter, due to global expansion costs.
Also in the Internet sector, Yahoo shares jumped 1.18% amid reports the company's Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer is exploring whether to bid for the Hulu LLC streaming-TV service.
According to Bloomberg, Amazon.com, up 0.83%, has also expressed an interest in Hulu.
Among tech stocks, Dell shares climbed 0.52% following reports billionaire investor Carl Icahn is teaming up with Southeastern Asset Management to bid for the tech company, proposing an alternative to the USD24.4 billion buyout proposed by founder Michael Dell and private equity firm Silver Lake partners.
Elsewhere, financial stocks were mostly higher as Citigroup inched up 0.02% and Goldman Sachs added 0.27%, while Bank of America rose 0.31%.
JP Morgan underperformed on the other hand, slipping 0.18% as the U.S. lender was sued by California over claims it pursued lawsuits against defaulted borrowers based on insufficient evidence.
Other stocks in focus included Gold Fields, scheduled to report earnings later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 edged up 0.10%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.21%, Germany's DAX inched 0.05% higher, while Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.11%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.47%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index surged 2.93%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release data on the federal budget balance.