Stocks open higher as Dow tries to end 2-day slide. Stocks opened higher on Thursday as The Dow Jones Industrial Average fought to end a two-day slide after data showed the number of Americans applying for jobless benefits fell to a 17-year low. The S&P 500 index climbed 5 points, or 0.2%, to 2,343. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 18 points, or 0.1%, to 20,423, as a post-earnings drop in shares of Verizon Communications Inc. and International Business Machines Corp. caused the benchmark to lag its peers.