Stocks opened higher Thursday as a strong reading on productivity and an easing in jobless claims helped cheer investors during a choppy week of trading.

The major averages are coming off their second consecutive mixed sessions, with a late selloff Wednesday wiping out what had been strong gains.

Cisco Systems reported a profit that declined from last year's levels but handily beat Wall Street estimates, pushing the company's stock higher in late trading.

What follows is a roundup of corporate earnings reports for Wednesday, Nov. 4.

Tech heavyweights Cisco Systems and EMC dampened speculation the two companies would merge as they announced Tuesday a broad partnership to develop data center technology, taking on rivals IBM and Hewlett-Packard.

Fourteen companies that have tried to reduce their carbon emissions.

Cisco Systems is winning new deals and benefiting from a broad economic recovery, a William Blair analyst said Wednesday as he upgraded the company's stock.

While overall stock valuations aren’t much more attractive than bonds, some areas like technology are appealing, Rob Morgan, president of Dearden, Maguire, Weaver and Barrett, said on CNBC Tuesday.

Stocks ended lower Friday as a dismal jobs report capped a string of disappointing economic reports this week, which cast doubt on the recovery. It was the market's second straight down week in which stocks have lost more than 3 percent.

Polycom shares fell Thursday as Cisco Systems ramped up competition in the video-conferencing market with its $3 billion acquisition of Norway's Tandberg ASA.

The Dow fell more than 2 percent Thursday, it's largest one-day loss since right before the summer rally began, as a weak ISM reading rattled confidence in the recovery. Shares of both GE and Comcast fell amid buzz that the two are in talks about GE's NBC Universal unit.

Stocks tumbled Thursday after a disappointing ISM report on manufacturing piled on to worries about the economic recovery.

Futures indicated a slightly lower open for Wall Street on Thursday, as caution over the state of U.S. recovery tempered anticipation that the global economy would gather momentum in the final three months of 2009.

The corner office is getting a bit more bullish about the economy. While investors have been bidding up shares in the stock market for months, many chief executives and boards had privately remained skittish about their own businesses until recently.

Stocks snapped a three-day losing streak Monday as investors cheered a wave of merger-and-acquisition activity.