U.S. stocks open lower amid earnings, data

NEW YORK, May 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened lower on Thursday as investors digested a slew of quarterly corporate earnings as well as economic data.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average erased 140.54 points, or 0.59 percent, to 23,784.44. The S&P 500 decreased 14.08 points, or 0.53 percent, to 2,621.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 35.64 points, or 0.50 percent, to 7,065.25.

Tesla posted a narrower-than-expected loss on Wednesday after the closing bell as the electric car maker spent heavily to make gains in Model 3 production in April. Shares of Tesla plunged 7.09 percent to trade at 279.80 U.S. dollars apiece.

This earnings season has been good so far. First quarter earnings are expected to increase 24.6 percent year-on-year, while blended revenue growth estimate is 8.1 percent, according to Thomson Reuters' latest estimates.

On the economic front, new applications for U.S. jobless benefits increased less than expected last week.

In the week ending April 28, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 211,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 209,000, said the Labor Department on Thursday.

The 4-week moving average was 221,500, a decrease of 7,750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 229,250. This is the lowest level for this average since March 3, 1973 when it was 221,250, the department said. Enditem