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U.S. stocks open lower amid economic data

Xinhua, December 22, 2016 Adjust font size:

U.S. stocks opened slightly lower Thursday as investors digested an array of economic reports.

U.S. real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 3.5 percent in the third quarter of 2016, beating market consensus of 3.3 percent, according to the "third" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The third estimate is higher than the second estimate of 3.2 percent. In the second quarter, real GDP increased 1.4 percent.

In a separate report, the bureau announced that new orders for manufactured durable goods in November decreased 11 billion U.S. dollars or 4.6 percent to 228.2 billion dollars, exceeding market estimates.

Meanwhile, in the week ending Dec. 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 275,000, an increase of 21,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 254,000, said the U.S. Labor Department.

The four-week moving average was 263,750, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 257,750.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 10.73 points, or 0.05 percent, to 19,931.23. The S&P 500 lost 2.84 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,262.34. The Nasdaq Composite Index edged down 0.56 points, or 0.01 percent, to 5,470.88.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks ended lower after wavering in a tight range as Wall Street meditated on a batch of mixed earnings results. Endi