Your Web Site
Stocks slump on jobless claims, weak retail sales NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks on Thursday declined for the first day in three after the government reported a rise in weekly jobless claims, American International Group Inc. posts a large loss and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s sales cast a pall. "Weekly jobless claims have not been kind of late [and] Wal-Mart's same-store sales are a disappointment, which is raising some concerns about the consumer's health," said Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald. The major stock indexes pared their losses after data pointed to a possible strengthening in the U.S. housing market in coming months. The National Association of Realtors reported its index of sales contracts on previously owned U.S. homes rose 5.3% in June from the prior month. Read Economic Report. "While... [read full story]
