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10A – Daily News – Friday, October 8, 2010 NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks edged lower Thurs- day, backing away from early gains, as uncertainty built up ahead of a key report on the labor market. The Dow Jones industri- Stocks dip ahead of jobs news, pull back from 11K Wall Street the year. al average came within two points of 11,000 before turning lower for most of the day. The Dow hasn’t traded above that level since May 4, about a week after reaching its highest point of Slightly better news on claims for unemployment insurance gave stocks an early lift, but the gains faded quickly as traders opted for caution ahead of Friday’s employment report from the Labor Department, the most crucial piece of news on the economic calendar. Stocks are coming off a historically strong perfor- mance in September, and analysts say the market will need significant doses of positive news on the econo- my, corporate earnings or, preferably, both before heading decisively higher again. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 10.4 percent in September, but is still 2.1 percent below its 2010 high reached on April 26. In economic news, first- time claims for unemploy- ment insurance fell last week, a better result than analysts were expecting. Retailers including Macy’s Inc., Abercrombie & Fitch and Limited Brands Inc. reported better-than-expect- ed monthly sales, which ini- tially provided a lift to the market. The retail-sales news was positive, but ‘‘there’s not enough to move the nee- dle given that we’ve got the big jobs report’’ Friday, said Hank Smith, chief invest- ment officer at Haverford Investments. The Dow Jones industri- al average fell 19.07, or 0.2 percent, to close at 10,948.58. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 1.91, or 0.2 percent, to 1,158.06, while the Nasdaq compos- ite rose 3.01, or 0.1 percent, to 2,383.67. Falling stocks narrowly outpaced rising ones on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 3.9 billion shares. There is a wide range of expectations for how Fri- day’s jobs report might turn out, said Ed Crotty, chief investor officer at Davidson Investment Advisors. Even upbeat results might not be enough to drive stocks sig- nificantly higher. ‘‘If the number is good, there will be skepticism it’s not sustainable,’’ Crotty said. Claims for unemploy- ment insurance have been falling steadily in recent rowed its earnings outlook to a level below analysts’ forecasts. PepsiCo fell $2.01, or 3 percent, to $66.10. Limited Brands shares rose $1.05, or 3.8 percent, to $28.64, while Abercrombie & Fitch jumped $3.44, or 8.9 per- cent, to $42.03. Macy’s rose 15 cents to $23.85. weeks, but still indicate that employers aren’t ramping up hiring. Payroll company ADP said Wednesday that private employers trimmed jobs in September for the first time in seven months. Earnings reporting sea- son got under way for U.S. companies after the market closed Thursday when alu- minum maker Alcoa Inc. became the first company that’s part of the Dow Jones industrial average to report quarterly results. Alcoa’s net income fell 21 percent because of lower metals prices, but the results still beat analysts’ expectations. PepsiCo Inc. reported mixed results earlier in the day. The drink and snack maker said its third-quarter profit jumped in part on rev- enue gains following its acquisition of its two largest bottlers earlier this year. Earnings matched expecta- tions, but the company nar- $499 Discover an array of local health related vendors. Ham, Eggs and Endless Cakes! Good all day for all in party! October 1st REUSABLE COUPON! Two Farm Fresh Eggs, a slab of Hickory Smoked Ham and Buttermilk Hotcakes till you say “when”! thru 31st , 2010 Present coupon when ordering as often as you like during October. Dine-in only. Not valid with any other discounts. 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The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, was unchanged at 2.39 percent compared with late Wednesday. Its yield helps set interest rates on a variety of loans including mort- gages. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said rates on tradition- al 30-year fixed-rate mort- gages reached their lowest level on records dating back to 1971. The dollar continued to fall against other major cur- rencies as traders expect U.S. interest rates to fall fur- ther. Gold, which is consid- ered a safe alternative to the dollar, hit another record of $1,366 an ounce early Thursday before pulling back to $1,335 an ounce. 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