Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday, boosted by strong U.S. employment data although investors remained cautious following a disappointing trade balance report and sustained concerns over political and financial troubles in Greece.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.63%, the S&P 500 index climbed 0.82%, while the Nasdaq Composite index added 0.21%.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending May 5 fell to 367,000, defying expectations for an increase of 1,000 to 369,000.
The previous week’s figure was revised up to 368,000 from 365,000.
Meanwhile, a separate report showed that the U.S. trade deficit widened to USD51.8 billion in March from deficit of USD45.4 billion in February.
Analysts had expected the U.S. trade deficit to widen to USD50.0 billion.
Investors remained cautious after Alexis Tsipras, the head of Greece’s second-biggest party Syriza, gave up his attempt to form a new government on Wednesday, pushing the debt-stricken country closer to its second election in a few weeks and prompting European governments to withhold part of the latest tranche of rescue funds to be paid on Thursday.
Among earnings, shares in News Corp. surged 4.90% after the company reported quarterly results that topped forecasts, thanks to strong cable network and movie studio performances, and also announced a USD5 billion stock buyback program.
Sony also added 1.77% after saying it expected to return to profitability in the current fiscal year, as its consumer electronics and components businesses recover. Sony has posted losses for four straight years.
In the financial sector, SunTrust Banks saw shares climb 2.56% on reports it is in talks to sell its asset management unit RidgeWorth Investments, after failing to sell the unit two years ago.
Other U.S. lenders added to gains, as shares in Citigroup jumped 2.04% and Bank of America advanced 1.68%, while JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs rose 1.55% and 1.50% respectively.
On the downside, Cisco Systems dove 7.88% after the tech bellwether reported higher-than-expected earnings but said the latter half of the year was "really hard to read" as customers were more cautious about Europe.
Kohl's also slipped 2.79% as the department-store chain reported a sharp decline in earnings as its gross margin was hurt by price cuts.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 jumped 1.34%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.58%, Germany's DAX advanced 0.92%, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.48%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped 0.9%, while markets in Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index dipped 0.3%.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.63%, the S&P 500 index climbed 0.82%, while the Nasdaq Composite index added 0.21%.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending May 5 fell to 367,000, defying expectations for an increase of 1,000 to 369,000.
The previous week’s figure was revised up to 368,000 from 365,000.
Meanwhile, a separate report showed that the U.S. trade deficit widened to USD51.8 billion in March from deficit of USD45.4 billion in February.
Analysts had expected the U.S. trade deficit to widen to USD50.0 billion.
Investors remained cautious after Alexis Tsipras, the head of Greece’s second-biggest party Syriza, gave up his attempt to form a new government on Wednesday, pushing the debt-stricken country closer to its second election in a few weeks and prompting European governments to withhold part of the latest tranche of rescue funds to be paid on Thursday.
Among earnings, shares in News Corp. surged 4.90% after the company reported quarterly results that topped forecasts, thanks to strong cable network and movie studio performances, and also announced a USD5 billion stock buyback program.
Sony also added 1.77% after saying it expected to return to profitability in the current fiscal year, as its consumer electronics and components businesses recover. Sony has posted losses for four straight years.
In the financial sector, SunTrust Banks saw shares climb 2.56% on reports it is in talks to sell its asset management unit RidgeWorth Investments, after failing to sell the unit two years ago.
Other U.S. lenders added to gains, as shares in Citigroup jumped 2.04% and Bank of America advanced 1.68%, while JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs rose 1.55% and 1.50% respectively.
On the downside, Cisco Systems dove 7.88% after the tech bellwether reported higher-than-expected earnings but said the latter half of the year was "really hard to read" as customers were more cautious about Europe.
Kohl's also slipped 2.79% as the department-store chain reported a sharp decline in earnings as its gross margin was hurt by price cuts.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 jumped 1.34%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.58%, Germany's DAX advanced 0.92%, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.48%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped 0.9%, while markets in Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index dipped 0.3%.