The report also showed that building permits rose 6.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.217 million units in January from a revised 2.075 million unit rate in December. Building permits are seen as a good indicator of builder confidence.

Thursday morning, the Department of Labor released its report on initial jobless claims in the week ended February 11. The report showed that jobless claims rose more than economists had been expecting.

The Labor Dept. said that jobless claims for the week rose to 297,000 from the previous week''s revised figure of 278,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 285,000 compared to the 277,000 originally reported for the previous week.

The report also showed that the four-week moving average ended its recent streak of decreases, edging up to 283,000 from the previous week''s revised average of 276,750. The increase by the less volatile moving average came after it fell in the six previous weeks.

Additionally, the report showed that continuing claims in the week ended February 4 fell to 2.511 million from the preceding week''s revised level of 2.550 million.

INTERNATIONAL MARKETS NEWS

Asian-Pacific benchmarks finished broadly higher, following oil prices drop and Fed Reserve Chairman Bernanke’s comment on further interest-rate increases. Taiwan Weighted index led the gainers with an advance of 1.44%. The Nikkei rose 0.84% with traders looking ahead to Friday’s GDP release. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.8% and Singapore Straits Times gained 0.63% on upbeat economic data.

European stocks advanced Thursday as gains in the tech sector on strong earnings news from Hewlett-Packard counteracted mixed corporate news, including weakness at DaimlerChrysler on disappointing 2005 results. The German DAX 30 gained 0.4%, the French CAC 40 advanced 0.8%, and London’s FTSE 100 added 0.6%.

OIL, METALS, CURRENCIES

Crude oil prices climbed back over $58 a barrel, halting a two-week decline. Light sweet crude for March delivery gained 56 cents to $58.21 a barrel. London Brent added 45 cents to $58.60.

European gold prices moved lower. In London gold traded at the fixed price of $540.80 bid per troy ounce, down from $542.50. In Zurich the precious metal traded at $539.3, down from $544.10. In Hong Kong gold fell $5.30 to close at $540. Silver closed at 9.25, up from $9.23.

The U.S. dollar was strong against most other major currencies. The euro traded at $1.1881, down from $1.1883. The dollar traded unchanged at 117.88. The British pound stood at $1.7350, down from $1.7398.

EARNINGS NEWS

DaimlerChrysler, (DCX: chart), automotive company, reported that its 2005 net profit advanced 15% to 2.85 billion euros but its operating profit dropped 10% to 5.19 billion euro, due to a 505 million euro operating loss at its Mercedes unit that offset rising profitability at Chrysler. Revenue advanced 5% to 149.78 billion euros over the year on a 3% increase in unit sales. The company beat analyst estimate for a 2005 profit of 2.39 billion euros. In Q4, the automaker gained 84% more to 966 million euros with a 10% revenue increase to 41.45 billion euros.

Baker Hughes Inc, (BHI: chart), oil services company, reported Q4 net profit soared 43.6% to 76 cents a share on 19% revenue growth, beating analyst estimate of 73 cents a shareBaker Hughes said it expects 2006 revenue to rise 19% to 21% from $7.19 billion in 2005. Income from continuing operations is expected to be in the range of $3.40 to $3.60 a share.

CryptoLogic Inc, (CRYP: chart), gaming software company, reported that Q4 earnings increased 53.5% to 43 cents a share on 39.6% revenue growth, due to increased licensing fees from the company''s poker software, which climbed 92% to $7.9 million.

Ness Technologies Inc, (NSTC: chart), IT services company, reported that Q4 net income advanced 26.2% to 18 cents a share, if not for extraordinary income, on the back of a 27.6% increase in revenue, in line with analysts’ views.

Ansys Inc, (ANSS: chart), software company, reported that its Q4 net income advanced 8.1% to 39 cents a share on 12.3% revenue growth. The company sees Q1 revenue in the range of $41 million to $42 million and adjusted earnings of 35 cents to 36 cents a share.