Stocks open slightly higher as S&P 500 looks to hit new records

U.S. stocks rose at the start of Thursday's session as investors eyed labor-market data showing a decline in the number of Americans claiming unemployment benefits. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 3,671, a day after closing at a record. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to 29,941. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.3% to 12,387. Weekly U.S. data on unemployment benefits claims fell by 75,000 to 712,000 last week, compared with estimates of 780,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. In company news, Post-it maker 3M said it would cut 2,900 jobs globally as part of a new restructuring.

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