Retail Sales Reports Hold Back Market
Disappointing retail sales figures and an unexpected jump in unemployment claims prompted investors to take profits Thursday, leaving stocks mixed despite another big drop in oil prices.</br></br>One day after crude oil futures posted their biggest decline since September 2001, oil prices again fell sharply.</br></br>However, stock investors were disappointed with November sales reports from the nation's retailers. A number of top retailers issued lower-than-expected sales reports as the holiday shopping season got underway. With two-thirds of the U.S. economy powered by consumer spending, many investors hoped strong holiday spending would boost the economy through the end of the year.</br></br>The Dow Jones industrial average fell 5.10, or 0.05 percent, to 10,585.12. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index dropped 1.04, or 0.1 percent, to 1190.33, while the Nasdaq composite index gained 5.34, or 0.3 percent, to 2143.57.</br></br>Investors also were nervous after the Labor Department reported a sharp rise in first-time unemployment claims, which climbed 25,000 last week, to 349,000.