Stocks in the United States are lower Thursday morning after rallying on Wednesday. The S&P 500 is down 0.33%, The Dow is off 0.30%. There were 295,000 initial claims for unemployment for the week of April 18, up from 294,000 the week prior.
In Asia, stocks finished mixed Thursday following weak manufacturing data from China. The Hang Seng fell 0.38% on the day, while the Shanghai Composite added 0.27%.
In Europe markets are lower today with eurozone economic data disappointing investors. The FTSE is down 0.06% while the DAX is down 1.35%.
Energy futures are mixed this morning. The price for West Texas Intermediate crude oil is up $0.21 to $56.37 per barrel, while natural gas is down $0.03 to $2.62. Metals prices are higher today. Gold is up $3.20 and platinum is up $5.20. The Dollar is down versus the Euro and up against the Yen.
ARRIS Group, Inc. (ARRS), Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc.(DNKN) and Dana Holding Corporation(DAN) are early risers, while Ericsson (ERIC), Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN) and Sony Corporation (SNE) are down.
