US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Wall St opens lower as jobless claims rise

Wall Street opened lower on Thursday as a surprise increase in weekly jobless claims signaled that a labor market recovery was cooling and that more fiscal support would be necessary to avoid another round of mass layoffs and furloughs.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 47.04 points, or 0.18%, at the open to 26,716.09. The S&P 500 opened lower by 10.78 points, or 0.33%, at 3,226.14, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 81.97 points, or 0.77%, to 10,551.02 at the opening bell.