U.S. Stocks Open Higher; GM Powers Dow's Gains

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks on Thursday started higher as a mild rise in weekly jobless claims came in better than anticipated and as Dow Jones Industrial Average component McDonald's Corp. hiked its dividend to shareholders by 50%.

"Though claims moved up slightly, the level is still low and reflective of a healthy job market," said analysts at Action Economics.

The Labor Department reported its count of Americans applying for jobless benefits climbed back up for the week ended Sept. 8 by 4,000, putting the total of initial claims filed at 319,000. .

The Dow industrials rose 87.7 points to 13,379.4, with 28 of its 30 components trading higher, led by shares of General Motors Corp. , with shares of the blue chip company advancing 6% after the auto maker's upgrade to buy by Citigroup.

The S&P 500 rose 8.42 points to 1,479.98, and Nasdaq Composite gained 8.54 points to 2,600.61.

The price of crude oil, which topped $80 a barrel for the first time Wednesday in futures trading, fell in early action at the New York Mercantile Exchange, declining 43 cents to $79.48 a barrel.

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Shares of McDonald's climbed 3.6%. The fast-food giant late Wednesday raised its cash dividend for shareholders. .

Microsoft Corp. also saw early gains as the software goliath lifted its quarterly dividend by a penny, to 11 cents a share.

Outside the Dow, Target Corp. gained after the discount retailer said it had hired banking advisors to explore a possible sale of $7 billion in credit-card receivables.

The dollar gained some ground against the euro, after hitting all-time lows on Wednesday. The euro first moved to a new record high of $1.3927 overnight before pulling back. It more recently traded at $1.3874.

On Wednesday, Wall Street saw a mixed finish, with the Dow industrials down 16 points and the S&P 500 off 5 points but the Nasdaq Composite ending fractionally higher.

"Considering the gains seen (Tuesday), the continued climb in energy prices and a modestly disappointing mid-quarter update from Texas Instruments, the flat day is welcome and the lack of a sell-off is arguably encouraging," said analysts at Goldman Sachs.

But Lehman Brothers economist Zach Pandl struck more of a cautionary tone.

The rising price of crude "represents an important income shock to U.S. consumers and adds further downside risk to an already-dreary growth outlook," Pandl wrote in a Thursday note.

By Kate Gibson