BUSINESS

Stocks fell on Thursday, extending losses on weakness in technology and industrial names.

The number of Americans claiming unemployment benefits for the first time fell only slightly last week, suggesting that job growth in April will not improve much after March's disappointing performance.

Home resales fell in March but the supply of properties on the market tightened and prices inched higher, giving mixed signals about the pace of recovery in the still-struggling housing sector.

The global economy is set to expand by a modest 3.3 percent this year as a still-smoldering euro zone debt crisis and a relatively slow U.S. recovery continue to leave Asia as the main driver of growth, Reuters polls showed on Thursday.

Stocks dipped in choppy trade on Thursday as investors grappled with uncertainty in the euro zone, a raft of corporate earnings and economic data that painted a mixed picture of the domestic recovery.

Bank of America Corp posted a better-than-expected first-quarter earnings on Thursday as the No. 2 U.S. bank set aside less money for loan losses and capital markets activity rebounded.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc and investment adviser TCW have survived an appeal by a German bank that sued them for fraud over a toxic derivative marketed at the height of the housing market bubble.

Property insurer Travelers Cos Inc blew past Wall Street earnings estimates for the first quarter and raised its dividend 12 percent as natural disaster losses declined and insurance rates continued to rise after years of weakness.

The state of New York on Thursday sued Sprint Nextel Corp for more than $300 million, accusing the company of tax fraud for deliberately not collecting or paying millions of dollars of taxes for its cell phone service.

Van Halen, 57, recently took his public confrontation with his alcoholism a step further in a tell-all interview with Esquire: The legendary guitar player displaced responsibility for his alcoholism on his father.

Nokia dropped its sales chief and promised to slash more costs, as Chief Executive Stephen Elop battles to reinvent the cellphone maker to compete with smartphone rivals.

New York on Thursday sued Sprint Nextel Corp for more than $300 million, accusing the company of tax fraud for deliberately not collecting or paying millions of dollars of taxes for its cell phone service.

Scientists have discovered a new species of crab on the island of Palawan, located off the west coast of the Philippines, which is characterized by its pretty purple hue. The crustacean, called Insulamon palawanense, was just one of four new species of crabs detailed in a recent study.

DuPont's first-quarter profit beat Wall Street's expectations, helped by price hikes and sales of insecticides and genetically modified seeds.

Stocks rose slightly in a choppy session on Thursday as investors grappled with euro zone uncertainty, a raft of corporate earnings and economic data that painted a mixed picture of the domestic recovery.

Argentina's move to nationalize local oil company YPF, controlled by Spain's Repsol, was a mistake and the wrong thing to do, the head of the World Bank said on Thursday.

Stocks opened flat on Thursday as a weak reading on the labor market and rumors of a French sovereign debt downgrade offset better-than-expected results from Bank of America and Morgan Stanley.

France and Spain sold all the bonds they wanted at auction on Thursday, though for Spain the cost was rising yields, indicating growing concerns the government will not be able to tame its deficit.

Morgan Stanley's first-quarter results beat expectations, as trading revenue rose sharply and the bank's wealth management business began to improve, sending its shares up in premarket trading on Thursday.

Bank of America Corp reported lower first-quarter profit as the second-largest U.S. bank took accounting charges related to its debt, but results topped analysts' estimates as credit quality improved.

New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits fell less than expected last week, according to a government report on Thursday that could dampen hopes of a pick-up in job creation in April after March's slowdown.

Ford Motor Co is investing $760 million to build a new plant in eastern China as part of its effort to catch up with U.S. rival General Motors Co in the world's largest auto market.

Stock index futures trimmed early gains on Thursday, tracking European markets lower, as speculation swirled that France's sovereign debt rating may be downgraded.

Nokia ditched its sales chief and promised to slash more costs, as the Finnish cellphone maker runs out of time to reinvent itself under pressure from smartphone rivals.

Morgan Stanley lost money during the first quarter because a quirky accounting rule cost the bank $2 billion, but excluding that special item, its earnings rose on stronger wealth-management revenue and cost cutting.

Stock index futures rose on Thursday after Spain sold all of its debt at an auction and ahead of a raft of corporate earnings and economic data.

Disillusioned by the unfulfilled promise of the cities and feeling stifled by tough austerity measures aimed at coping with an economic downturn, some Portuguese are opting out and returning to the land.

DuPont's first-quarter profit and sales beat Wall Street's expectations, helped by price hikes and strong sales of herbicides and genetically modified seeds.

Spain managed to sell 2.5 billion euros ($3.3 billion) of bonds at auction on Thursday, as much as it wanted, but at a cost of rising yields as the country struggles to tame its deficit.