US stocks open mostly lower on weak data

Most of the US stock indices fell on Thursday, after the release of data showed that the US unemployment claims rose for the first time in 5 weeks.

The US Labor Department showed that initial unemployment claims rose to 742,000 from 711,000, worse than forecasts of 707,000.

The rising coronavirus infections in the US and other countries increased prospects for reimposing lockdown restrictions, which will impact economies once again.

The International Monetary Fund has warned of a slowdown in the global economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic impact, despite news of promising vaccines.

As for stocks, Dow Jones fell 0.1% or 16 points to 29,421 as of 14:55 GMT, and S&P 500 fell 1 point to 3566, while Nasdaq rose 0.2% or 30 points to 11,831.