US stocks open lower on weak economic data

Major US equity indices opened lower on Thursday as investors reacted to mixed US economic data and disappointing quarterly earnings report from Verizon Communications Inc. and Travelers Companies Inc.

Data released on Thursday showed weekly jobless claims climbed to a six-week high of 260K while Philly Fed Manufacturing Index fell to 9.7 in October from 12.8 in September. 

At the time of reporting, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost around 20 points to 18,180, while the broader S&P 500 index fell 3 points to 2,142. Meanwhile, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index underperformed the broader indices and lost nearly 0.2% or over 10 points to 5,235.

In other markets, the EUR/USD pair swung wildly as ECB President Mario Draghi said that the central bank's governing council did not discuss an extension of its quantitative easing program and also had no plans to abruptly end the program. 

Meanwhile, the prevalent cautious sentiment lifted the traditional safe-haven asset, gold, to the highest level since Oct. 5, while WTI crude witnessed a profit-taking move and dipped back below $51.00/barrel mark.