STOCKS ARE AT ALL-TIME HIGHS
On Wednesday, both the Dow and the S&P 500 hit new all-time closing highs, though the S&P 500 was about a point short of its all-time intraday high during the session.
In early trade, the Dow was up 28 points, the S&P 500 was up about 1 point, and the Nasdaq was up 2 points.
The latest rise in stocks comes after the European Central Bank's latest monetary policy statement, which saw the central bank do nothing with its benchmark interest rates, while ECB president Mario Draghi struck a decided dovish tone during his press conference.
Following this press conference, the euro was falling against the dollar and European stocks were rallying.
On Thursday, we also got the latest report on initial jobless claims, which showed that the four-week moving average of claims fell to its lowest level since April 29, 2000.
Crude oil prices were also falling after OPEC cut its outlook for both oil prices and oil demand.
In stock news, Tesla shares will be in focus on Thursday after the electric carmaker on Wednesday night reported profit that topped estimates but said it would produce more cars that in it delivers in 2014.
Shares of Whole Foods were among the big winners after its earnings report.