U.S. stocks open higher amid economic data

U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday, as investors mainly digested newly-released economic data.

In the week ending Dec. 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 265,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 275,000, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday.

The four-week moving average was 263,000, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 263,750.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 29.02 points, or 0.15 percent, to 19,862.70. The S&P 500 gained 3.67 points, or 0.16 percent, to 2,253.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 10.90 points, or 0.20 percent, to 5,449.46.

U.S. stocks pared early gains to end lower on Wednesday, as the country's pending home sales data came out much worse than expected.

After the Dow Jones Industrial Average drifted away from the 20,000 mark on Wednesday, analysts said the Santa rally has run out of steam. Endi