U.S. equities pared most losses in a
late-day surge on Thursday, driven by
investors snapping up big-cap names and the notion that concerns about the jobs picture, which helped spur the buying of safe-haven
government debt, were overblown.
New U.S. claims for jobless benefits fell only slightly last week, according to the Labor Department, missing forecasts for a greater decline, while the prior week's number was revised up.
Some investors said the data undercut optimism about U.S. job growth, and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said again that the U.S. economy's recovery was relatively weak.
Yet a late-day surge suggested investors had second thoughts about the jobs report, which showed initial claims for stateunemployment benefits fell 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 359,000, the lowest level since April 2008.
Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI)
-DJI
13,145.82 
19.61(0.15%)
Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI)
-DJI
| Prev Close: | 13,126.21 |
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| Open: | 13,125.99 |
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| Day's Range: | 13,032.67 - 13,151.57 |
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| 52wk Range: | 10,362.30 - 13,331.80 |
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