U.S. stocks open mixed amid earnings, data

NEW YORK, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened mixed on Thursday as investors digested a batch of corporate earnings report as well as economic data.

Shares of Twitter soared over 25 percent in the early trading on Thursday, after the social network delivered better-than-expected quarterly results and reported its first-ever quarter of profitability.

Latest data from Thomson Reuters showed that the S&P 500 companies' blended earnings in the fourth quarter of 2017 are expected to rise by 14.3 percent year on year, while the revenues are forecast to increase by 7.8 percent.

On the economic front, in the week ending Feb. 3, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 221,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 230,000, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.

The four-week moving average was 224,500, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 234,500. This is the lowest level for this average since March 10, 1973 when it was 222,000.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 34.03 points, or 0.14 percent, to 24,859.32. The S&P 500 increased 0.63 point, or 0.02 percent, to 2,682.29. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 16.83 points, or 0.24 percent, to 7,068.81.

U.S. stocks declined Wednesday after fluctuating between gains and losses, as investors became cautious amid rising bond yields. Enditem