(As of 7:09 am pacific)
Stocks open modestly higher on Thursday as US jobless
claims remain near a 2012 high. Jobless
claims fell by 1,000 to 388,000 last week, according to the US Labor Dept. Claims from 2 weeks ago were revised up to
389,000. For the third straight week,
jobless claims remained elevated, causing concern about the weakening labor
market. The 4 week average for claims,
which takes in to account seasonal volatility, drifted higher to 381,750. The market continues to digest statements
made by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke in yesterday’s press conference. The outlook remained relatively neutral with
Bernanke stating they are holding to
their plan of keeping rates low until 2014.
Investors globbed on to a statement Bernanke made indicating that the
central bank would keep monetary policy highly accommodative as the economy
continues to grow modestly. Markets
weren’t expecting much, but liked hearing that QE3 was not completely off the
table. In Europe today, stocks traded
lower on negative sentiment data that reaffirmed doubts in the euro-area
recovery. The European Commission
reported its economic sentiment indicator fell more than expected in April to
92.8, down from 94.5 in the previous month.
The disappointing readings were the lowest since December 2011. European banks led the retreat on
Thursday. In Asia, stocks gained on
company earnings and positive momentum from yesterday’s Wall Street gains. Oil was up just slightly to 104.13 while gold
traded higher, up 0.66% to 1653. The US
dollar was mixed and 10 yr. treasury yields fell 4 basis points to 1.94%. 30 yr. mortgage rates remained near all-time
lows at 3.85%. The VIX was down 7% to
16.82.
