Thursday’s session ended with gains. Wal-Mart, Chevron, AT&T, and Verizon led the Dow higher. Crude oil added 43 cents to settle at $104.55 a barrel. Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported a slight dip in initial jobless claims. Jobless claims fell by 1,000 to 388,000 last week. The prior week’s numbers were revised up from 386,000 to 389,000. Elsewhere, pending home sales were up in March. The National Association of Realtors said its index of pending sales rose 4.1% last month to 101.4, the highest level since April 2010. Amazon.com posted earnings after the closing bell. The Internet retailer said net income fell to $130 million, or 28 cents a share, from $201 million, or 44 cents, a year earlier.
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