US stocks are little changed in early trading after the number of people seeking unemployment benefits dipped last week.
The Dow Jones industrial edged up 10 points to 12,834 shortly after the opening bell Thursday. The Dow is now up 0.7 percent this week and 3.7 percent for the month.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 2 points to 1,354, and the Nasdaq fell 10 to 2,920.
Weekly applications for unemployment benefits declined by 2,000 to 387,000, the Labor Department said.
In Europe, finance ministers are meeting to figure out the best way to deal with Greece and a bailout for Spain's hobbled banks. Later in the day, Spain is expected to say how much money it needs to rescue its banks. - Sapa-AP