After increasing last week, initial unemployment claims fell by 24,000 this week according to a report issued today by the Department of Labor. The report (found here) also mentioned that the four-week moving average was reduced by 10,000.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Application Survey showed an increase of 5.8 percent in the volume of mortgage applications for the week that ended November 5th. The report (found here) also showed a 6 percent increase in the refinance index.
Despite the good news on the economic front, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down most of the day, falling as many as 60 points in the first hour after opening. The Dow ended the day up 10.29 points to 11,357.04, which was the first increase for the Dow this week. The Nasdaq was up 15.80 points to 2,578.78. The S&P 500 rose 5.31 points to 1,218.71.
The continuing global economic instability seems to be affecting European and Asian markets this week. On Wednesday, European markets were down while Asian markets were mixed as Japan’s Nikkei gained 1.4 percent.
Stocks in the news: Target Corp (NYSE: TGT), Polo Ralph Lauren Corp (NYSE: RL), Macy’s Inc (NYSE: M).
