Summary: Stocks opened slightly higher Thursday as investors liked what they heard from Walmart’s earnings and the latest tap into the labor market. Jobless claims came in at 290,000 last week, 10,000 more than expected. Continuing claims rose more than expected as well for the week ending November 1st at 2.39 million. Walmart (WMT) reported Q3 earnings that topped Wall Street’s expectations. The world’s biggest retailer beat both profit and sales estimates and reported better-than-expected same-store sales in the U.S. Kohl's (KSS) posted earnings that fell short of expectation on both the top and bottom lines. Kohl's reported Q3 earnings of $0.70 a share, estimates were for $0.04 more. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) is buying the Duracell battery business from Procter & Gamble (PG). The deal values Duracell at $6.4 billion and is expected to close in the second half of 2015.
