U.S. stocks opened higher Thursday as investors digested a batch of economic data.

In the week ending Oct. 21, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 233,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week's revised level and generally in line with market estimates, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday.

The 4-week moving average was 239,500, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised average.

Meanwhile, the nation's international advance trade in goods deficit increased to 64.1 billion U.S. dollars in September from 63.3 billion dollars in August, the U.S. Commerce Department announced Thursday.

Earnings season was still in focus. Shares of Twitter, Inc. surged over 10 percent in the early trading Thursday after the social media platform delivered strong third-quarter results before the opening bell.

The latest data from Thomson Reuters showed that the S&P 500 companies' blended earnings in the third quarter of 2017 are expected to rise 4.7 percent year on year, while the revenues are forecast to increase 4.5 percent.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 100.09 points, or 0.43 percent, to 23,429.55. The S&P 500 added 6.55 points, or 0.26 percent, to 2,563.70. The Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 1.85 points, or 0.03 percent, to 6,565.75.

U.S. stocks ended lower Wednesday as investors pondered over a string of earnings reports amid economic data.