Stocks rose on Thursday after three days of declines as investors looked for bargains, though the activity was dampened somewhat by a worse-than-expected weekly unemployment report that suggested the economic recovery might not yet have started. The U.S. Labor Department reported that the number of people filing new unemployment claims last week rose to 637,000, higher than economists had predicted. The number of people in the United States receiving unemployment benefits grew faster than expected too, rising to 6.6 million, and continuing unemployment claims hit a 15th straight weekly record. According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 46.43, or 0.6 percent, to 8,331.32. The S&P 500 index rose 9.15, or 1 percent, to 893.07, while the Nasdaq rose 25.02, or 1.5 percent, to 1,689.21. The New York Stock Exchange composite rose 66.98 to close at 5,733.45. The American Stock Exchange composite climbed 10.21 to end the day at 1,483.86. The Russell 2000 also closed higher, up 8.89 to 480.71.
