BEFORE THE BELL-Wal-Mart shares reverse course, climb after Q3

NEW YORK, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Shares in Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) reversed their initial losses and rose 0.3 percent to $53.17 in premarket trade on Thursday after the budget retailer posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit.

The shares had initially fallen when it said earnings during the key holiday quarter could miss Wall Street estimates as its customers face rising unemployment.

Subsequent data showing the weekly claims for jobless insurance fell to their lowest level since January may have helped to abate those fears and caused the shares to reverse course.

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(Reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)