U.S. stocks opened lower Thursday as investors digested fresh data showing that weekly unemployment claims slipped and wholesale inflation climbed more than expected in January. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA fell 0.8% soon after the opening bell, while the S&P 500 SPX fell 1.1% and the Nasdaq Composite COMP dropped 1.4%, according to FactSet data, at last check. Initial jobless claims slipped to 194,000 in the week ending Feb. 11, according to a Department of Labor report Thursday. That’s above the 200,000 in new claims forecast by economists polled by the Wall Street Journal, with the Department of Labor report signaling a still strong U.S. labor market. Meanwhile, U.S. wholesale prices jumped 0.7% in January, more than expected, while the year-over-year increase slowed to 6%. The Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates to fight high inflation.
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