Indices closed out mixed on Thursday. The Dow rebounded from earlier low levels to post slight gains led by Intel and Coca-Cola. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq shed some points. Bank of America and Citigroup led losses in the financial sector. Action was mixed amid the release of some less-than-optimum economic data. The Department of Labor reported that initial jobless claims fell by 5,000 to 359,000 last week. Though down from the prior week’s upwardly revised level of 364,000, economists had expected only 350,000 new claims. Meanwhile, a report on economic growth matched expectations. The government’s third reading on GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2011 was unrevised at 3%. The result was up from a 1.8% annualized growth rate in the third quarter. Elsewhere, crude oil futures slipped $2.63 to settle at $102.78 a barrel.
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