NEW YORK (AP) ? Stocks are edging lower in early trading as investors weigh mixed earnings results with a slight dip in claims for unemployment benefits.
The Labor Department said applications for unemployment benefits dropped to 403,000 last week. That is still above the 375,000 number economists say signals a healthy jobs market.
Southwest Airlines rose 2 percent after the company earned a penny more per share last quarter than Wall Street analysts predicted. AT&T lost 0.7 percent after reporting that the number of new iPhone subscribers fell.
Ten minutes after the market open, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 15, or 0.1 percent, to 11,486.
The S&P 500 fell 2, or 0.2 percent, to 1,208. The Nasdaq shed 14, or 0.5 percent, to 2,590.