US equity markets open with modest gains

Major US equity indices edged higher at opening and traded with minor gains on Thursday, boosted by a drop in weekly jobless claims, albeit lower-than-expected, and better-than-expected quarterly earnings from some major companies. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened around 30 points higher at 18,231 while the broader S&P 500 index rose nearly 4 point to 2,143. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index gained 16 point and is trading at 5,265.

Data released on Thursday showed durable goods orders softened in September and declined marginally by 0.1% as against market expectations of a growth of 0.1%. Meanwhile, initial weekly jobless claims fell by 3,000 to 258K for the week ended Oct. 21 and continued showing the underlying strength in the US labor market. 

Meanwhile, strong corporate earnings from oil heavyweight ConocoPhillips and social-media company Twitter, added to the positive sentiment during opening hour of trade. 

In FX market, the overall US Dollar Index continued gaining traction as market players remain convinced that the Fed would eventually raise interest rates at its December meeting. Oil prices also traded higher after Wednesday's upbeat data and gold staged a minor recovery amid range-bound trading action around the very important 200-day SMA.