Stocks Retreat on Weak Economic News

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NATIONAL

Wall Street posted a moderate decline Thursday, giving back part of the prior session’s gains as investors once again fretted about interest rates and the economy.


A slight rise in weekly unemployment claims met expectations of a weakening job market, but a greater-than-forecast drop in the Conference Board’s index of leading indicators stoked concerns about a dropoff in economic growth. Meanwhile, higher oil prices and rising bond yields also weighed on Wall Street’s mood.


According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average sank 60.35, or 0.54 percent, to 11,019.11, after tumbling as much as 93 points earlier in the session. The Dow gained almost 105 points Wednesday. Broader stock indicators also were lower. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slid 6.60, or 0.53 percent, to 1,245.60, and the Nasdaq composite index lost 18.22, or 0.85 percent, to 2,122.98.






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LOCAL

Emak Worldwide Inc. dropped 6.5 percent to $5.64. Intergroup Corp. lost 6 percent to $15.27. Electro Rent Corp. fell 3.8 percent to $14.41. Diodes Inc. was off 3 percent to $39.80. Univision Communications Inc. was down 3 percent to $32.80.


Hi-Shear Technology Corp. rose 9 percent to $16.24, 1st Century Bank N.A. gained 7.7 percent to $9.75. Scheib Inc. gained 4.8 percent to $3.90. Wilshire Bancorp Inc., which was raised to “market perform” from “underperform” by analyst James Abbott at Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. with a price target is $17 per share, rose 3.8 percent to $17.30.



MannKind Corp.

was rated long-term “buy” Wednesday in new coverage by analyst Leah A Hartman at CRT Capital Group. The 12-month price target is $22 per share.



Teledyne Technologies Inc.

was rated new “buy” Wednesday in new coverage by analyst Michael S Lewis at BB & T; Capital Markets. The 12-month price target is $41 per share.



Valueclick Inc.

was rated “buy” Tuesday in new coverage by analyst Clayton F Moran at Stanford Group. The 12-month price target is $20 per share.

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