Dow up, but Nasdaq lags as fourth quarter opens

The Dow opened higher Thursday while the Nasdaq dropped as investors looked ahead to major US economic data releases after closing the books on a dismal third quarter.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 16,308.15, up 23.45 points (0.14 percent).

The broad-based S&P 500 edged up 1.81 (0.09 percent) to 1,921.84, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 15.31 (0.33 percent) at 4,604.86.

Analysts said the market could benefit Thursday from an inflow of money that sometimes accompanies a new month and, in this case, a new quarter.

The S&P 500 fell 6.94 percent in the third quarter to register its worst three-month stretch in four years.

Investors are looking ahead to major economic data releases, especially Friday's US jobs report for September.