U.S. stocks opened lower Thursday as investors digested fresh data showing that weekly unemployment claims slipped and wholesale inflation climbed more than expected in January. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -1.02% fell 0.8% soon after the opening bell, while the S&P 500 SPX, -1.13% fell 1.1% and the Nasdaq Composite COMP, -1.20% dropped 1.4%, according to FactSet data, at last check. Initial jobless claims slipped to 194,000 in the week ending Feb. 11, according to a Department of Labor report Thursday. That’s above the 200,000 in new claims forecast by economists polled by the Wall Street Journal, with the Department of Labor report signaling a still strong U.S. labor market. Meanwhile, U.S. wholesale prices jumped 0.7% in January, more than expected, while the year-over-year increase slowed to 6%. The Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates to fight high inflation.
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