US stocks rise in early trading, shrug off weak data

Most of the US stock indices opened higher on Thursday, amid optimism about the US economic recovery despite the release of disappointing data.

Data showed that the US unemployment claims rose to 744K during the past week, worse than forecasts of 684K. 

The International Monetary Fund raised its projections for the global GDP to grow by 6% in 2021.

The IMF also estimated the US economy to grow to 6.4% in 2021 based on the Federal Reserve's forecasts.

As for stocks, Dow Jones fell 0.2% or 64 points to 33,381 as of 13:58 GMT, Nasdaq rose 0.9% or 124 points to 13,813, and S&P 500 rose 0.2% or 9 points to 4,089.