Wall St opens modestly higher after data

NEW YORK: US stocks opened slightly higher on Thursday, in the wake of two days of declines on the S&P 500, after higher-than-expected initial jobless claims figures and ahead of a report on factory orders.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 26.87 points, or 0.15 percent, to 18,123.77, the S&P 500 gained 2.48 points, or 0.12 percent, to 2,101.01 and the Nasdaq Composite added 12.76 points, or 0.26 percent, to 4,979.90.