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10B Daily News – Friday, May 11, 2012 By JOSHUA FREED AP Business Writer Dow breaks 6-day losing streak, barely Wall Street The Dow Jones industrial average broke a six-day losing streak Thursday, notching a small gain after the gov- ernment released better unemployment numbers. The Dow rose 19.98 points to close at 12,855.04, after rising almost 100 points earlier in the day. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 3.41 points to close at 1,357.99. Dow had fallen six days in a row, its longest los- ing streak since August. Investors have wor- ried that job growth is fading. They were encouraged by a Labor Department report that applications for unem- ployment benefits dropped 1,000 to Before Thursday, the 367,000 in the week ending May 5. week average, which economists watch more closely, down to 379,000 — closer to the 375,000 level, which suggests job growth is strong enough to reduce the unemployment rate. Eight out of 10 indus- try groups in the S&P 500 rose, with only materials and technolo- gy stocks declining. Utilities were the biggest gainers, up 0.9 percent, followed by health care and con- sumer staples. Tech stocks closed That pulled the four- down 0.8 percent, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 1.07 points to 2,933.64. Networking gear maker Cisco Sys- tems plunged 10.5 per- cent after warning that technology spending appears to be slowing and that its revenue would rise much less than analysts expected this quarter. Hardware maker Oracle fell 2.7 percent. from news that Spain would take over Bankia SA, the country's fourth-largest bank, which has high exposure to bad property loans. The government hopes to convince investors that Spain won't need a bailout. The yield on Spain's 10-year debt fell 0.12 percentage points to 5.95 percent — mean- ing its borrowing costs fell slightly because of reduced worries about its debt. Spain's IBEX 35 index jumped 3.4 per- Stocks also benefited Private Bank. Other European stocks rose, too. Britain's FTSE 100 closed 0.3 percent high- er, and Germany's DAX rose 0.7 percent. cent. ''Europe's problems are by no means being solved. But the feeling that there is some sup- port there probably helps sentiment a little bit,'' said Ed Hyland, a global investment spe- cialist with J.P. Morgan the move: — Pfizer rose 1.7 per- cent after the drugmaker got preliminary approval for an arthritis drug. — Avon fell 3.3 per- cent after beauty prod- ucts maker Coty Inc. raised its offer to buy Avon but also said it will withdraw the latest bid if it doesn't get a response by the close of business Monday. Some analysts have been say- ing Avon is worth more. — Kohl's fell 4.3 per- cent after price-cutting led to a 23 percent drop in its first-quarter profit. Oil prices rose 8 cents to $96.89 per barrel. Other U.S. stocks on How US states fared on jobless aid applications The number of peo- ple seeking U.S. unem- ployment benefits fell last week, a hopeful sign that hiring could pick up in coming months. Here are states with the biggest increases and decreases in appli- cations. The data are for the week ended April 28, one week behind the national data: States with the biggest decreases New York: Down 21,258, because of fewer layoffs in trans- portation, educational service and food ser- vices California: Down 6,790, because of fewer layoffs in the service industries tance and trade Connecticut: Down 1,708, because of fewer layoffs in educational services Massachusetts: Down 2,530, no reason given Georgia: Down 2,110, because of fewer layoffs in manufactur- ing, transportation and warehousing, health care and social assis- Down 1,570, because of fewer layoffs in the food products, textiles, elec- tronics and leather industries and in compa- nies that couldn't be classified New Jersey: Down 1,201, because of fewer layoffs in transportation North Carolina: and warehousing, hotels and restaurants, infor- mation, manufacturing, health care and social assistance Arizona: Down 1,169, no reason given Michigan: Down 1,139 because of fewer layoffs by manufactur- ers States with the biggest increases: Indiana: Up 2,294, because of layoffs in transportation and man- Mother's Day Breakfast Special Prime Rib Breakfast $ Comes with eggs, hash browns or home fries & toast 999 Mother's receive 15% Discount 6:30am-2pm 7875 HWY 99E LOS MOLINOS, CA 384-1265 No substitutions ufacturing Florida: Up 1,767, because of layoffs in agriculture, construc- tion, trade, retail, ser- vices and manufacturing Illinois: Up 1,512, because of layoffs in manufacturing, con- struction and the admin- istration support indus- try Pennsylvania: Up, 1,121, because of lay- offs in the construction, entertainment, hotel, food service, retail, pro- fessional, scientific and technology industries • Everyday Cheapskate • Coupons • Gleaners The Daily News - At your side when times are tough ORDERS TO GO