US stock market climbs in early trading

The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is recovering in early trading after slight losses the day before.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 67 points, or 0.4 percent, to 15,507.60 shortly after the market opened on Thursday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up six points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,758.20. The Nasdaq gained 19.19 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4,030.74.

The U.S. Labor Department said Thursday the number of people applying for unemployment benefits declined 20,000 last week to 331,000. That fall suggests that Americans are facing fewer layoffs and better job prospects.

Akamai Technologies jumped $18.24, or nearly 9 percent, to $56.07 after a strong earnings report, and after the content delivery company appeared to put to rest fears that it was losing its biggest client.