U.S. stock indexes rise tentatively Thursday morning, after data showed weekly jobless benefit claims fell slightly as expected and investors began positioning for the monthly jobs report on Friday that will help shape views on how long the Federal Reserve's bond-buying program will continue. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
+0.55%
gained 120 points, or 0.3%, at 34,912, the S&P 500 index
SPX,
+0.42%
rose 0.3% to 4,414, while the Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP,
+0.65%
advanced 0.2% at 14,804. Weekly data showed that first-time claims for unemployment benefits last week fell to 385,000, down 14,000 from the previous week and in line with forecasts, while continuing claims fell below 3 million for the first time since March 2020. Separately, the June U.S. trade deficit rose to a record, fueled by a surge in imports. Investors began positioning ahead of the nonfarm payrolls report for July due Friday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expect 845,000 nonfarm jobs were created in July. In corporate news, shares of Robinhood Markets Inc.
HOOD,
-12.13%
were down nearly 7% after a 50% surge on Wednesday, after the popular trading platform said it would sell nearly 98 million shares.