By Kristina Peterson
U.S. stocks fell Thursday as the latest peek into the labor
market showed no signs of improvement.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 40 points, weighed
by a 2.9% drop in Intel Corp. (INTC).
Investors sold shares in the chip giant after it agreed to pay
$7.68 billion to acquire computer-security software maker McAfee
Inc. (MFE), whose shares soared 58%. The acquisition was the latest
high-profile announcement in a week marked by a resurgence in deal
activity.
The Dow fell 0.4% to 10377. The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) slid
0.3% to 2209. The Standard & Poor's 500-share (SPX) index slid
0.4% to 1090, weighed by its utilities and health-care sectors.
The morning's labor market snapshot discouraged investors who
had been hoping to see claims fall below 450,000 instead of hitting
their highest level since Nov. 14. Initial unemployment claims
unexpectedly rose by 12,000 to 500,000 in the week ended Aug. 14,
the Labor Department said Thursday.
However, global growth fears eased a bit after Germany's
Bundesbank lifted its domestic gross domestic growth forecast for
the year to 3% and said it saw little chance of a double-dip
recession in the U.S.