By The Associated Press
Trader Christopher Forbes, second left, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday. Global stock markets were mostly weaker Thursday Nov. 7, 2013 with a cautious mood prevailing ahead of key U.S. data that will provide further clues on when the Federal Reserve will cut monetary stimulus. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Chrysler New Midsize Car
FILE – In this Tuesday, July 16, 2013, file photo, a covered vehicle sits in part of the new paint shop at Chrysler’s Sterling Heights Assembly Plant in Sterling Heights, Mich. The Commerce Department issues its first estimate of how fast the U.S. economy grew in the July-September quarter on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
Twitter IPO
A banner adorns the facade of the New York Stock Exchange in advance of Twiiter’s initial public offering Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013, in New York. Twitter shares, valued at $26 per share, are set to begin trading on the stock exchange Thursday. The company is valued at $18.1 billion. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
Unemployment Benefits
FILE – In this Thursday, Aug. 8, 2013, file photo, applicants listen to a speaker’s bull horn instructions for attending a combined Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and Harlem Week job and career fair in New York. The Labor Department reports on the number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefit the first week of November on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
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NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are opening higher as U.S. economic growth accelerated, Europe’s central bank cut interest rates and investors anticipated Twitter’s big stock debut.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 33 points to 15,780 in early trading Thursday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index rose two points to 1,772. The Nasdaq rose three points to 3,935 following two days of declines.
The economy expanded at an annual rate of 2.8 percent in the third quarter. Economists had expected growth to slow to 2 percent from the previous quarter’s 2.5 percent.
Before the market opened, the European Central Bank cut its benchmark refinancing rate to a record low of 0.25 percent from 0.5 percent.
Twitter begins trading under the ticker “TWTR.” It’s the most anticipated initial public offering since Facebook last year.
