NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are heading higher at the opening of trading with stronger earnings from Apple Inc., General Electric Co. and UnitedHealth Group Inc.
General Electric and UnitedHealth were among the large companies whose quarterly results beat analysts’ expectations Thursday morning. GE rose 1 percent in early trading.
UnitedHealth, the country’s second-largest health insurer, rose 8 percent.
Apple also beat estimates for both sales and profits. Apple rose 3 percent.
The Labor Department said the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits fell last week to 403,000. Economists had expected a larger drop.
The Dow Jones industrial average is up 21 points, or 0.2 percent, at 12,473. The S&P 500 index is up 6 points, or 0.4 percent, at 1,336. The Nasdaq is up 16 points, or 0.5 percent, at 2,818.
