Investing.com - U.S. stocks opened lower on Thursday, despite upbeat U.S. jobless claims data as markets took a breather after the Federal Reserve's decision to begin tapering its stimulus program next month sent global equities higher on Wednesday.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.11%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.22%, while the Nasdaq Composite index shed 0.31%.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending December 14 increased by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 379,000, the highest level since late-March.
Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to to 334,000 last week from the previous week’s revised total of 369,000.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones closed at record highs on Wednesday after the Fed said it would reduce its USD85 billion-a-month bond buying program by USD10 billion in January. In his last press conference as Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the economy was continuing to make progress.
The U.S. central bank reiterated that interest rates are likely to remain low even after the unemployment rate drops below 6.5%, the threshold at which the Fed has previously said it would start to consider rate increases.
In the auto sector, Ford Motor plummeted 1.41% after predicting stalled revenue growth and sliding profit in 2014.
Adding to losses, Citigroup fell 0.27% after the Financial Times reported that the bank chose AIA Group as its partner in a multi-billion-dollar distribution deal that will allow the Asian life insurer's products to be sold through the U.S. lender's network across the region.
Facebook shares tumbled 1.39% after the social-networking company said founder Mark Zuckerberg would sell 41.4 million shares worth about USD2.3 billion as part of an offering of 70 million shares.
Target was also on the downside, retreating 1.26%, after the retailer said about 40 million credit and debit card accounts used by its customers may have been impacted by a data breach.
On the upside, McDonald's rose 0.23% as the fast food giant's Japan business said it plans to close 74 outlets in the country after the company cut its full-year profit forecast by more than half in its second-largest market.
Other stocks likely to be in focus included Nike, Red Hat, Darden, Accenture, Rite-Aid, Worthington Industries and Tibco Software, all scheduled to release quarterly earnings later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply higher. The EURO STOXX 50 rallied 1.41%, France’s CAC 40 jumped 1.13%, Germany's DAX advanced 1.11%, while Britain's FTSE 100 climbed 0.92%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.10%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.74%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish data on existing home sales and manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region.
During early U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 0.11%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.22%, while the Nasdaq Composite index shed 0.31%.
The U.S. Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending December 14 increased by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 379,000, the highest level since late-March.
Analysts had expected U.S. jobless claims to to 334,000 last week from the previous week’s revised total of 369,000.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones closed at record highs on Wednesday after the Fed said it would reduce its USD85 billion-a-month bond buying program by USD10 billion in January. In his last press conference as Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the economy was continuing to make progress.
The U.S. central bank reiterated that interest rates are likely to remain low even after the unemployment rate drops below 6.5%, the threshold at which the Fed has previously said it would start to consider rate increases.
In the auto sector, Ford Motor plummeted 1.41% after predicting stalled revenue growth and sliding profit in 2014.
Adding to losses, Citigroup fell 0.27% after the Financial Times reported that the bank chose AIA Group as its partner in a multi-billion-dollar distribution deal that will allow the Asian life insurer's products to be sold through the U.S. lender's network across the region.
Facebook shares tumbled 1.39% after the social-networking company said founder Mark Zuckerberg would sell 41.4 million shares worth about USD2.3 billion as part of an offering of 70 million shares.
Target was also on the downside, retreating 1.26%, after the retailer said about 40 million credit and debit card accounts used by its customers may have been impacted by a data breach.
On the upside, McDonald's rose 0.23% as the fast food giant's Japan business said it plans to close 74 outlets in the country after the company cut its full-year profit forecast by more than half in its second-largest market.
Other stocks likely to be in focus included Nike, Red Hat, Darden, Accenture, Rite-Aid, Worthington Industries and Tibco Software, all scheduled to release quarterly earnings later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply higher. The EURO STOXX 50 rallied 1.41%, France’s CAC 40 jumped 1.13%, Germany's DAX advanced 1.11%, while Britain's FTSE 100 climbed 0.92%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.10%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.74%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish data on existing home sales and manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region.