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Dow, Nasdaq, S&P 500 Open Higher; Avis, Stamps.com Spike

The Dow Jones industrial average, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 opened to firm gains on Thursday, as the market looked to pull itself onto positive ground for the week.

X The Dow Jones industrial average scrambled up 0.7% at the starting bell, aided by early shows of strength from United Technologies (UTX) and Caterpillar (CAT). The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.6%, with Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) chalking up the biggest gain among Nasdaq 100 stocks.

The S&P 500 also swung up 0.6%. Energy names held the index's strongest early gains, with Chesapeake Energy (CHK) and TechnipFMC (FTI) leading the advance.


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China's markets were broadly mixed as Hong Kong picked up on the late day sell-off in the U.S., and Shanghai and Shenzhen reopened after their week-long holiday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dived 1.5%. The Shanghai Composite rallied 2.2%.

In Japan, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 tumbled 1.1%, racking up its second loss this week. Europe's markets were under increased pressure in afternoon trade, with the CAC-40 in Paris slipping 0.3%, Frankfurt's DAX down 0.7%, and the FTSE 100 in London showing a 1% decline.

United Tech Leads Dow; Netflix Lags Among FANGs;  Stamps.com Spikes

On the Dow, United Technologies rallied 1.7% to lead the index, Caterpillar showed a 1.2% gain. Apple also advanced 1.2% — aiming to reverse its three straight declines. The stock has managed to hold support at its 10-week moving average.

Facebook (FB) jumped 1% and Amazon.com (AMZN) popped 1.2% as Netflix (NFLX) lagged among the FANG stock tech leaders in early action with a 1.1% gain. Shares are consolidating below a Jan. 29 high, and extended from a flat-base breakout in early January.

Avis Budget (CAR) bolted 10% higher after reporting above-expectations fourth quarter results late Wednesday.

Stamps.com (STMP) posted an early 14% advance after scoring a big fourth-quarter earnings beat. Revenue also topped analyst targets and management hoisted its full-year guidance to well above expectations. The gain hoisted the IBD 50 stock back above support at its converged 10- and 40-week moving averages, in a base pattern begun in October.

Roku (ROKU) stabbed 21% lower, as investors looked past a strong fourth-quarter performance to focus on first-quarter revenue guidance that was below consensus estimates.

Trade among chip stocks was relatively tame, with the exception of Tower Semiconductor (TSEM), which toppled more than 9% after its fourth-quarter report.

Also in motion after early earnings reports, Pandora Media (P) plummeted 9%, Repligen (RGEN) surged 11% and Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) took a 22% dive.

China-based stocks were largely quiet, despite Thursday's volatile session on their home markets. JD.com (JD) edged up 1.3% in premarket trade. The online retail heavyweight has been consolidating below a Jan. 29 high, after a late-January breakout attempt failed and triggered the automatic sell rule.

Unemployment Claims Fall; Leading Indicators, Oil Inventories Coming Up

Thursday's economic news opened with the Labor Department reporting first-time unemployment claims dropped sharply, to 222,000 during the week ended Feb. 17. That was the steepest decline in 2018, down from 229,000 claims in the prior week and undercutting consensus estimates for 230,000 applications.

The Conference Board's leading economic indicators for January are due out at 10 a.m. ET and the Kansas City Federal Reserve's regional manufacturing survey at 11 a.m. The Energy Information Administration reports weekly natural gas withdrawals and oil inventories at 10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. ET, respectively.

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