US stock indexes drift higher in early trading
U.S. stock indexes drifted between small gains and losses in early trading Thursday as investors weighed the latest batch of company earnings news.
The market was coming off a two-day rally as investors' anxiety about Britain's vote last week to leave the European Union eased.
Lions Gate Entertainment, which owns the "Orange Is The New Black" Netflix series, climbed 3.2 percent after announcing it would buy the cable channel Starz.
Bank stocks rose broadly after getting clearance from the Federal Reserve to raise their dividends and buy back shares.
Darden Restaurants fell 4.2 after the parent company of Olive Garden forecast a profit for its fiscal 2017 that fell short of Wall Street expectations.
Deutsche Bank slid 3.3 percent after the Federal Reserve rejected its plans to return capital to shareholders through dividend increases and share buybacks.
The Labor Department said applications for unemployment benefits rose last week, but the level of claims remains low enough to suggest that most workers enjoy job security.
Britain's stock market has recouped its losses, though that is largely thanks to the pound's drop, which helps the big companies' overseas earnings.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 edged up 0.1 percent, while South Korea's Kospi rose 0.7 percent.