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Investing.com — U.S. stocks opened lower on Thursday, with tech stocks falling on a weak forecast from Microsoft.
At 9:42 AM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 108 points or 0.3%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.3% and the NASDAQ Composite fell 0.2%.
Shares of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) fell 3% after it cut its fourth-quarter profit and revenue forecast because of unfavorable currency movements. The soaring U.S. dollar has pressured the profits of multinational companies that convert foreign currency into dollars.
But jobs are the focus of this week, after the job openings report on Wednesday showed 11.4 million available positions amid decade-low unemployment. On Thursday, the ADP private payroll report showed 128,000 jobs were added last month, short of estimates for 300,000 jobs. Separately initial jobless claims fell to 200,000 last week, below estimates for 210,000.
Shares of Chewy Inc (NYSE:CHWY) jumped 11% after the pet accessories retailer reported solid quarterly results, while shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (NYSE:HPE) fell 8% after slightly missing on the top and bottom lines.
Oil was holding steady. Crude Oil WTI Futures rose 0.5%, to $115.81 a barrel, while Brent Oil Futures crude rose 0.3%, to $116.69 a barrel. Gold Futures rose 1%, to $1,867 an ounce.
