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NEW YORK, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened higher Thursday as Wall Street digested a batch of economic data.
In the week ending Aug. 27, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 263,000, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 261,000, the U.S. Labor Department announced Thursday.
The four-week moving average was 263,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 264,000.
In a separate report, the department reported that U.S. non-farm business sector labor productivity decreased at a 0.6-percent annual rate during the second quarter of 2016, as output increased 1.1 percent and hours worked increased 1.7 percent.
Meanwhile, investors also kept a close eye on Friday's non-farm payrolls report. If the U.S. labor market is robust enough, analysts said it is possible for the U.S. central bank to hike interest rates as soon as September.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 18.28 points, or 0.10 percent, to 18,419.16. The S&P 500 edged up 0.95 point, or 0.04 percent, to 2,171.90. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 9.20 points, or 0.18 percent, to 5,222.42.
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks retreated further as investors pondered over the country's better-than-expected ADP employment report.
