Stocks gain in early trading on Wall Street; GM up

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose in early trading today after the number of people applying for U.S. unemployment benefits fell to the lowest since September.

First-time applications for benefits dropped by 21,000 last week, the Labor Department reported, the latest sign that the U.S. job market is recovering. The number of applications, which is a proxy for how many workers are being laid off, is now near where it was before the Great Recession. Investors sold government bonds after the report came out, pushing the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note higher.

General Motors rose after the U.S. government said it expects to sell its remaining stake in the company by the end of the year. The Treasury Department still owns 31.3 million shares of the auto giant after bailing it out five years ago. GM gained $1.07, or 2.8 percent, to $38.76.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained eight points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,789 in the first hour of trading. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 70 points, or 0.5 percent, 15,997. The Nasdaq composite rose 30 points, or 0.8 percent, to 3,951.