• Jobless Drop: New claims decline by 5,000
• Inflation Steady: Consumer price index flat
• Greeks Seek: Hoping for EU help, or IMF
• FedEx Flying: Raises 2010 outlook

The Lowdown

Stocks finished mixed Thursday, though 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. Also, consumer prices held flat in February.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 46 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. Total claims lasting more than one week, meanwhile, increased moderately.

Separately, U.S. consumer prices were flat in February from the previous month as higher car prices were offset by lower energy costs. The seasonally-adjusted consumer price index was unchanged last month, the Labor Department said, after increasing an unrevised 0.2% in January. Core consumer prices, which strip out 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%.

Corporate News

• Pfizer (PFE) lost out to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA) in the auction for Ratiopharm, a German generic drug maker. Teva is paying about $5 billion for the company.
• Nike (NKE) rose early after the sneaker maker more than doubled its third-quarter profit and said orders climbed 9%.<
• FedEx (FDX) hiked its third-quarter and full year earnings outlooks, but also increased its investment in Boeing's 777s and reinstated employee compensation programs that will dampen earnings growth in fiscal fourth quarter and next year.

The Economy

• The Conference Board reported that the index of leading economic indicators rose 0.1% in February, marking the eleventh consecutive monthly gain. It followed a rise of 0.3% in January. The February gain matched expectations of analysts in an earlier poll. STORY
• The Philadelphia Fed s business outlook survey index rose to 18.9 in March from 17.6 in January, slightly better than expectations of an increase to 17.8. Any reading over zero in the diffusion index indicates growth, with higher readings indicating more firms reporting better conditions. All the major components of the index remained positive, indicating expansion. Employment indicators strengthened in March, but orders, shipments and inventories slipped. For the fourth straight month, more firms reported adding to their workforce than reported job cuts. STORY
• President Barack Obama signed the HIRE Act, a jobs bill that encourages small businesses to hire workers who have been laid off for more than two months. He said the recession "has taken a terrible toll on the middle class."

Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this report.