U.S. stocks open lower

U.S. stocks opened lower Thursday as Wall Street digested a batch of economic reports.

The Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand declined 0.1 percent in March, seasonally adjusted, missing market consensus, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.

On an unadjusted basis, the final demand index rose 2.3 percent for the 12 months ended March 2017, the largest increase since moving up 2.4 percent for the 12 months ended March 2012.

In a separate report, the department announced that in the week ending April 8, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 234,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised level.

The four-week moving average was 247,250, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised average.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 48.59 points, or 0.24 percent, to 20,543.27. The S&P 500 lost 5.69 points, or 0.24 percent, to 2,339.24. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 9.08 points, or 0.16 percent, to 5,827.08.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks extended losses as investors became cautious amid geopolitical concerns. Endi