U.S. market News; DJIA, Nasdaq, S&P 500 Trends Today: The primary U.S. stock
index composites continued mixed trending during Thursdays trading session. At
the halfway point, the DJIA was red, while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 were posting
green. All indices were tracking upward at the mid-day mark though due, in part,
to comments made by Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke. Economic data last
session was mixed. The U.S. Labor Department reported that new jobless claims
for the week ending January 28 fell by approximately 12,000 to 367,000. This
mark was a bit weaker than what some analysts were anticipating. The Labor
Department also revealed that labor productivity increased during the fourth
quarter at an annual rate of .7 percent. The Challenger Gray, and Christmas
report revealed that U.S. companies cut 53,486 jobs in January. This data
represented an increase of over 25 percent when compared to the number of jobs
shed in the previous month. Indices were mixed as economic news posted were also
a mixed bag. Trends began to track higher during the last session after Bernanke
spoke about the state of the economy. He reported that progress was observable
but that the pace was slow and frustrating. He reiterated the Feds decision to
keep interest rates low and also said that if the economy begins to falter, the
Feds will step in to ease. Investors received a shot of confidence based on
Bernankes comments. Index Close Marks Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq, S&P
500 Today: Ultimately, the primary index composites finished the session mixed.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower by .09 percent. The Nasdaq
finished the session green by .40 percent at 2,859.68. The S&P 500 finished the
session higher by .11 percent at 1,325.54. All attention now turns to key jobs
data due this day. Frank Matto
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