Stocks mostly higher on retail sales, labor report

Stocks are opening mostly higher on Wall Street following an encouraging report on the labor market and better sales from retail chains.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 35 points to 13,530 shortly after the opening bell Thursday.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose four points to 1,454 and the Nasdaq composite edged down one point to 3,134.

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose to 367,000 last week, fewer than economists had been expecting.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.64 percent from 1.62 percent late Wednesday.

Retailers including Costco and Limited Brands reported September sales that came in ahead of Wall Street’s estimates.

Investors are looking ahead to minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting, due out Thursday afternoon.