Wall Street edges up as jobless claims ease

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street edged higher in opening trade on Thursday as data on the labor market came in roughly in line with expectations, lifting optimism about the state of the anemic economy, but more companies warned of a continuing difficult environment.

* Ingersoll Rand Co Ltd fell more than 2.5 percent after it lowered its fourth-quarter and full-year 2008 revenue and earnings estimates, citing weakness in Europe.

* The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last week, Labor Department data showed, but despite the decline, claims remain exceptionally high and are more than 200,000 higher than a year ago.

* The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 51.69 points, or 0.59 percent, at 8,876.03. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> edged up 4.31 points, or 0.48 percent, at 908.73. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 5.80 points, or 0.37 percent, at 1,585.11.

(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman; Editing by James Dalgleish)