Awwal 18, 1432 H / April 22, 2011, SPA -- U.S. stocks finished higher Thursday, with the Dow Jones industrial average closing at a multi-year high, as investors received disappointing readings on regional manufacturing and the labor market. In world markets, European stocks closed mixed, as the FTSE 100 in Britain fell 0.1 percent and the DAX in Germany rose 0.6 percent. Asian markets finished higher, led by the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rising 1 percent. In U.S. economic news, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve said its manufacturing activity index plunged 18.5 in April from 43.4 during the previous month. Economists were expecting the figure to drop to 33. Meanwhile, the U.S. Labor Department reported that new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 13,000 to 403,000, following an increase in the previous week. Economists had forecast claims slipping to 392,000. --More
