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U.S. stocks open lower on geopolitical tension

Xinhua, March 26, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks opened lower on Thursday as investors weighed geopolitical tension on equities.

Oil prices spiked after Saudi Arabia and its allies launched air strikes on Yemen. U.S. crude oil climbed 2.36 percent in early Thursday.

Traders continued to assess small caps and the biotech sector Thursday as well to see whether they still lead the selloff in the broader market.

On economic front, U.S. jobless claims fell to a five-week low, and investors eyed such data pointed to a healthy and expanding labor market.

In the week ending March 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 282,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's unrevised of 291,000, said the U.S. Labor Department Thursday.

Federal Reserve policymaker James Bullard said on Thursday that now maybe a good time to start normalizing U.S. monetary policy so that it is set appropriately for an improving economy over the next two years.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 82.75 points, or 0.47 percent, to 17,635.79. The S&P 500 lost 9.50 points, or 0.46 percent, to 2,051.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 42.19 points, or 0.87 percent, to 4,834.33.

U.S. stocks fell sharply on Wednesday, with all the three major indices extending their losses into a third straight session, as data showed that U.S. manufacturing sector remained weak. Endi