Stocks open higher after jobless claims dip

Stocks edged higher Thursday following slightly better-than-expected data on the the number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) was up 14 points, or 0.1%, shortly after the opening bell. The S&P 500 (SPX) gained 4 points, or 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq (COMP) 10 points, or 0.4%.

Trading has quieted down as investors have started looking toward next year.

On Wednesday, stocks managed to eke out gains as a rebound in bank shares offset weakness in commodities, and concerns about rising interest rates in the Treasury market.

The recent sell-off in Treasuries abated Thursday, with the yield on the 10-year note easing off a 6-month high. Oil and gold prices rose, despite a stronger U.S. dollar.

With little compelling news on the docket, trading will likely remain lackluster. "The economic calendar has been really thin so the market has been looking ahead to 2011," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James. "I think the real debate is the strength of the economy in 2011."

Most economists agree the economy will continue to grow next year, but the pace won't necessarily be strong enough to push the unemployment rate lower, said Brown. Just last week, the government reported that the unemployment rate rose to 9.8% in November.
10 best stocks for 2011

Economy: The number of people filing for initial jobless claims fell 17,000 to 421,000 in the latest week from 436,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said in its most weekly jobless claims report. Economists had expected the number to decrease to 429,000.

Initial unemployment claims help give a read on the labor market. "But this time of year it tends to be pretty choppy, and that is due to difficulties in the seasonal adjustments," said Brown. "The numbers can really jump around week to week." He said the focus should remain on the four-week moving average, rather than the weekly gains or losses.

The four-week moving average, which is calculated to smooth out volatility in the data, fell by 4,000 to 427,500.

After the opening bell, the Commerce Department will release a report on wholesale inventories that is expected to show inventories fell to 0.7%, from 1.5% in October.
0:00 /BullHorn: Food, autos, DVDs, silver

Companies: Howard Stern announced that he has re-signed with SiriusXM (SIRI) Radio for five years, sending Sirius' stock rising 6% in early trade.

Tech giant Dell (DELL, Fortune 500) made a bid for Compellent Technologies Inc. (CML) for $27.50 a share -- well below the $33.65 per share the data storage company closed at on Wednesday.

Dell and rival HP (HP) were in an intense bidding war over another data storage company, 3PAR (PAR), recently. HP ended up acquiring 3PAR, so Dell's move to take over Compellent could be Dell's reaction to losing the bidding war. Shares of Compellent fell 12% in early trade, while shares of Dell were little changed.
Businesses racing against the tax clock

Freeport- McMoRan (FCX, Fortune 500) announced plans to pay a special dividend of $1 per share this year. The copper and gold producer also declared a two-for-one split of its common stock.

After the market close, Green Mountain Coffee (GMCR) is expected to report an earnings per share of 20 cents, down from the 34 cents per share it reported a year ago.

On Wednesday, the corporate websites of Visa and MasterCard appeared to be under cyberattack by purported Wikileaks backers. Shares of Visa and MasterCard were little changed.

World markets: European stocks were mixed in morning trading. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.3%, the DAX in Germany dipped 0.1% and France's CAC 40 rose 0.6%.

Asian markets also ended the session mixed. The Shanghai Composite shaved 1.3%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.3% and Japan's Nikkei gained 0.5%.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar rallied against the euro and the British pound, but fell slightly against the Japanese yen.

Oil for January delivery gained 4 cents to $88.32 a barrel.

Gold futures for February delivery edged up $6.30 to $1,389.50 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose slightly, pushing the yield down to 3.22%. The yield rose to a high of 3.33% Wednesday, up 36 basis points from Monday, the biggest two-day gain since September 2008.