By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
U.S. stocks held near unchanged Thursday as concern about what's
ahead for Europe's economy dampened cheer that came with
better-than-expected data on the American labor front.
Jobless claims fell to 365,000 last week, with the report coming
a day before the Labor Department's jobs report for April.
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast claims would fall
to 378,000.
Worry about Europe came as European Central Bank President Mario
Draghi said the economic outlook for the euro region remained at
risk as the sovereign-debt crisis threatened growth. The ECB kept
its benchmark rate at 1%, as expected.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 9.84 points to
13,278.41.
The S&P 500 Index (SPX) tilted fractionally higher to
1,402.35.
The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) was down nearly 2 points at
3,058.29.