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Stocks Rise After Drop in Jobless Claims
Updated: Thursday, 16 Dec 2010, 1:43 PM PST
Published : Thursday, 16 Dec 2010, 1:43 PM PST
By DAVID K. RANDALL, AP Business Writers MATTHEW CRAFT, AP Business Writers
NEW YORK (AP) - A drop in unemployment claims and an upbeat profit forecast by FedEx Corp. are helping stocks close higher.
The Labor Department said first-time jobless claims fell for the third time in four weeks.
Consumer banks and card companies fell sharply Thursday after the Federal Reserve said that it may impose a 12-cent cap on the fees merchants pay every time a customer pays with a debit card. Visa Inc. fell 12.4 percent.
According to preliminary figures, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 42, or 0.4 percent, to 11,499. The S&P 500 rose 8, or 0.6 percent, to 1,243. The Nasdaq composite rose 20, or 0.8 percent, to 2,637.
Two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume came to 1 billion shares.
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