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CNN's Carrie Lee reports on the rising markets, falling crude oil prices and other business news (September 8) |
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Stock markets opened lower Thursday as unemployment claims came in higher than expected and traders awaited the first oil and gas inventory reported to show the full disruption from Hurricane Katrina.
The Dow Jones industrial average (up 44.26 to 10,633.50, Charts), Standard & Poor's 500 (up 2.97 to 1,236.36, Charts) and Nasdaq composite (up 5.17 to 2,172.03, Charts) all lost more than a third of a percent.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of jobless claims fell by 1,000 last week, but that the figure will be revised upward as the Gulf Coast begins to process unemployment applications. Economists surveyed by Reuters expected claims to fall 5,000 to 315,000 for the week ended Sept. 3.
Investors will also await the weekly report on U.S. fuel inventories due at 10:30 a.m. ET.
In corporate news, The Wall Street Journal reports that online auction leader eBay (Research) is in talks to acquire privately held Internet-telephone company Skype Technologies for $2 billion to $3 billion.
Media conglomerate News Corp. (Research) has agreed to pay $650 million to acquire IGN Entertainment Inc., a network of video game-related Web sites that has filed for an initial public offering.
Luxury home builder Hovnanian Enterprises (Research) reported after the market close Thursday that it missed third-quarter earnings forecasts despite stronger sales and profits, and its guidance for future gains also fell below forecasts.
Oil prices were higher ahead of that report, which comes a day later than normal due to the Labor Day holiday. A sharp fall in oil prices Wednesday fueled a stock rally for the second straight day.
Major markets in Asia closed mixed Thursday, with South Korean's leading index at a record high. Major European markets were lower in early trading.
Treasury prices edged upward, lowering the yield on the 10-year note to 4.12 percent from 4.14 percent -- where it stood after Federal Reserve Governor Michael Moskow suggested late Wednesday that the Fed is not likely to pause in its path of measured interest rate hikes at its Sept. 20 meeting even with the disruptions caused by Hurricane Katrina.
The dollar gained ground against the euro and the yen.
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