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NEW YORK, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks opened lower on Thursday, as oil prices weighed on the energy sector and investors kept an eye on the third quarter earnings.
Oil prices dropped in the morning session on Thursday, with both U.S. oil and Brent crude sliding nearly 2 percent.
In corporate news, shares of Verizon dipped 2.60 percent in the early trading after the company delivered mixed quarterly results before Thursday's opening bell.
On the economic front, in the week ending Oct. 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 260,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's revised level, announced the U.S. Labor Department Thursday.
The 4-week moving average was 251,750, an increase of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average.
Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 41.47 points, or 0.23 percent, to 18,161.15. The S&P 500 was down 6.40 points, or 0.30 percent, to 2,137.89. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 20.89 points, or 0.40 percent, to 5,225.52.
U.S. stocks closed up on Wednesday, as investors were digesting the newly-released earnings reports and economic data. Enditem
