Stocks finished mixed on Thursday, as cautious investors prepared for the U.S. monthly jobs report due Friday. Stock rose earlier this week, with all three major indexes hitting 5-month highs, but investors remain uncertain about the labor market with reports showing continued weakness. In U.S. economic news, jobless claims fell to a 3-month low, with the U.S. Labor Department reporting that claims totaled 445,000 last week-down 11,000 from the previous week. Economists expect the number of jobs to remain at the same level in the upcoming monthly report, while the unemployment rate is expected to increase to 9.7 percent from 9.6 percent. In company news, Pepsi reported that third-quarter profit rose 13 percent from the same quarter last year. But the beverage giant reduced its profit outlook for the year to about 3 percent. The U.S. dollar gained against the euro and continued to fall against the yen. Light sweet crude oil for November delivery fell $1.56 to $81.67 per barrel. Gold futures fell $12.70 to $1,335.00 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 19.07, or 0.2 percent, to 10,948.58. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1.91, or 0.2 percent, to 1,158.06. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 3.01, or 0.1 percent, to 2,383.67.
