U.S. stocks opened lower Thursday as investors weighed a report showing initial jobless claims fell in the last week of 2022, indicating a strong labor market even as the Federal Reserve tries to cool the economy in its battle to bring down inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.5%, soon after the opening bell, while the S&P 500 shed 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.7%, according to FactSet data, at last check. The Department of Labor reported Thursday that new applications for unemployment benefits fell to 204,000 in the week ended Dec. 31.That was below the forecast from economists polled by the Wall Street Journal. Investors have been worried about how aggressive the Fed may need to be raising interest rates to cool inflation, and how long rates may remain high.
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