UPI NewsTrack Business

Stocks down on economy, inflation worries

NEW YORK, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- U.S stock indexes wound up losing ground Thursday on concerns over both inflation and economic growth.

The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 120.96 points, or 0.91 percent, to close at 13,110.05. The Nasdaq composite was down 25.81, or 0.98 percent, at 2,618.51. The S&P 500 Index was down 19.43, or 1.32 percent, at 1,451.15.

The volume on the New York Stock Exchange was 1.4 billion shares traded, with 717 shares advancing and 2,554 declining.

The dollar was mixed. The euro traded at $1.4619 from 1.4646 late Wednesday, while the dollar traded at 110.35 yen from 111.43.

Bonds rose. The benchmark 10-year note was up 23/32 to yield 4.165 percent.

Robust inventory keeps oil prices down

NEW YORK, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Crude oil futures closed down 66 cents at $93.43 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday on surprisingly robust inventory data.

Crude prices for December delivery, which had been slowly declining, dropped $2.09 to $92 a barrel shortly after the inventory report from the Energy Information Administration was released, before rallying to move back over the $93 mark.

Prices also were affected by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' decision to cut its growth forecast for global oil demand.

Natural gas fell 13.5 cents to close at $7.7 per million British thermal units. Heating oil was down 1.47 cents at $2.5587 a gallon. Reformulated gas was down 3.42 cents at $2.3362 a gallon.

AAA said the average U.S. retail price for regular unleaded gasoline at the pump was $3.112, up a fraction from Wednesday's $3.111.

U.S. mortgage rates show little change

MCLEAN, Va., Nov. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. mortgage rates, buffeted by mixed economic signals, were basically flat this week, the Freddie Mac market survey said Thursday.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.24 percent with an average 0.4 points, unchanged from last week.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 5.88 percent with an average 0.4 points, down from last week's 5.90 percent.

Five-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 5.96 percent this week, with an average 0.4 points, up from last week's 5.89 percent.

One-year Treasury-indexed ARMs averaged 5.50 percent this week with an average 0.5 points, unchanged from last week.

Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned corporation established by the U.S. Congress in 1970 to support homeownership and rental housing.

U.S. consumer prices up 0.3 percent

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. consumer prices rose 0.3 percent last month with a big jump in energy prices offset by lower housing and clothing costs, government reports said.

The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, advanced 0.2 percent for the fifth straight month.

Consumer prices were up 3.5 percent from a year ago. The core CPI was up 2.2 percent compared to the same month a year ago.

Meanwhile, the number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits soared last week, jumping 20,000 to 339,000, matching a seven-month high, the Labor Department said.