S&P 500 inches higher, heads for first gain in 5 days

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks perked higher in Thursday morning trading, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index was on track for its first gain in five days.

Crude oil inched higher following a plunge Wednesday, and Asian stocks recovered some of their sharp losses from the day before.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 2 points, or 0.1 percent, at 2,631, as of 10:05 a.m. Eastern time. If the S&P 500 remains higher through the day, it would snap the longest losing streak for the index since March. Losses over that span have been modest, though, with the index never dropping more than 0.4 percent in a day over that time.

The Dow Jones industrials average rose 48, or 0.