The Lowdown

Stocks finished mixed Thursday, with many exchange-traded funds ending flat. Although the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up for the eighth consecutive session, other indexes moved very little despite data showing the number of workers filing jobless claims fell for the third week in a row.

The Dow closed up 46 points at 10779, a level last seen in October 2008. The S&P 500 finished flat at 1166, and the Nasdaq finished up 2 at 2391.

The Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 5,000 to 457,000 in the week ended March 13. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected initial claims to decrease by 7,000. Meanwhile, total claims lasting more than one week increased moderately.

Separately, the latest data on consumer prices showed no change in February from the previous month. Higher car prices were offset by lower energy costs. The seasonally-adjusted consumer price index was flat last month, the Labor Department said, after increasing an unrevised 0.2% in January. Core consumer prices, which exclude volatile energy and food items and are more closely watched by the Federal Reserve, were up by a monthly 0.1% in February.

Growing indications that Greece may turn to the International Monetary Fund rather than fellow euro-zone nations for support helped drag the euro lower. The dollar weakened against the yen, but strengthened against the euro.

In other markets, crude-oil prices edged down 74 cents to $82.19 a barrel, while gold futures ebbed slightly. Treasurys edged up, with 10-year note up to yield 3.66%.

For a detailed rundown on Thursday s trading session see our market story.

Winners

The SPDR Gold Shares fund picked up 0.7%. The SPDR Industrial Select Sector SPDR fund also picked up 0.7%, ahead of the broader indexes.

Losers

The United States Natural Gas fund shed 4.9% as gas prices dropped on the spot market. The SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services fund declined 2.6% on falling crude oil prices.

Thursday s Industry Headlines

Launching Pad

ProFunds Group, the world's largest manager of leveraged and inverse funds, announced the launch of three exchange-traded funds offering single inverse exposure to equity indexes on China, the U.S. Real Estate and the U.S. Basic Materials sectors. The funds seek to provide

100% of opposite performance of an index or benchmark, before fees and expenses, for a single day. The new ProShares ETFs are: Short FTSE/Xinhua China 25 , Short Real Estate ( and Short Basic Materials.

Friday s Notebook

Earnings and Conference Calls

Eldorado Gold, Harris & Harris Group, Perry Ellis International

Economic Data

No major economic indicators scheduled