Weekly Unemployment Claims Released – Acadiana Business Index

Wall Street pauses ahead of the jobs report. Mark Lasseigne has your stock market report on today's Acadiana Business Index.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 11 points to 12,705.

• Tomorrow, the Labor Department releases its monthly jobs report. Today, the government reported weekly unemployment claims.  367,000 filed for benefits, slightly lower than expectations.

• Investors also listened to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who testified before U.S. lawmakers.

• Dow Chemical fell 1.2% after the company reported earnings that missed estimates, citing deterioration in the macro environment.
• MasterCard rose 5.8% after increased card spending helped the company turn in core earnings ahead of expectations.
• And, Abercrombie & Fitch skidded 11%, the worst performers on the S&P 500, after the apparel retailer indicated that earnings would fall well short of expectations.

• Oil prices pulled back to $96.36 a barrel on weak demand and rising supplies.
• And gold closed at $1,757 an ounce.