Stocks edge higher; Kroger jumps on earnings gain

The Associated Press

U.S. stocks are opening slightly higher following news that fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose two points to 1,959 in the first few minutes of trading Thursday.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 14 points, or 0.1 percent, to 16,921. The Nasdaq composite edged down three points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,358.

Kroger jumped 6 percent after the nation’s biggest supermarket chain reported higher profit and raised its earnings forecast for the year.

Rite Aid fell 2 percent after reporting a 55 percent plunge in its latest quarterly earnings. Higher drug costs lowered the company’s profits.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note slipped to 2.57 percent.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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