US open: Stocks higher following jobless claims data

Wall Street stocks were firmly in the green early on Thursday after registering heavy losses in the previous session.

As of 1510 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.77% at 34,208.76, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.76% to 4,149 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 1.09% firmer at 12,039.96.

The Dow opened 259.75 points higher on Thursday, erasing losses recorded in the previous session as market participants digested comments from central bankers and thumbed over corporate earnings.

Thursday's primary focus will be, as almost always, on the Labor Department's jobless claims report, which revealed Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at an accelerated clip in the seven days ended 4 February.

Initial jobless claims rose by 13,000 week-on-week to 196,000, up from the prior week's nine-month low of 183,000 and above economists expectations for a reading of 190,000. Continuing claims printed at 1.68m, up 38,000 week-on-week, while the four-week moving average for initial claims, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, declined from 191,750 a week earlier to 189,250.

Also drawing an amount of investor attention, Disney shares traded higher after the entertainment giant posted smaller-than-expected subscriber losses, as well as quarterly earnings and revenues that beat estimates, and announced plans to cut jobs in an effort to lower overheads.

Earnings from Hilton, Kellogg and Ralph Lauren all beat estimates thanks to revenues topping forecasts, Philip Morris missed earnings projections by just $0.01, even as revenues topped expectations, and PepsiCo posted a rise in quarterly profits and hiked its annual dividend but sales indicated that consumers may soon feel the pinch of higher prices.

PayPal will report earnings after the close

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com