Wall Street Up Slightly On Mixed Data:Acadiana Business Index

Stocks rose after the Labor Department said 366,000 workers filed for first time jobless claims last week, below forecasts. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 45 points to 11,869. Mark Lasseigne has your market report in today's Acadiana Business Index.

In other economic news,

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's gauge of mid-Atlantic manufacturing activity rose in December.

U.S. wholesale prices rose slightly in November due to higher food costs.

U.S. industrial production fell for the first time in seven months during November.

Elsewhere, data showed China manufacturing activity contracted again in December.

In corporate news,

Novellus Systems rallied 16% after agreeing to be acquired by fellow chip-equipment maker Lam Research in a deal valued at $3.3 billion. Lam shares dropped 8.4%.

And, FedEx climbed 8% after reporting quarterly earnings that exceeded expectations and affirming its full-year outlook.

Light, sweet crude closed at $94.20 a barrel.

And gold settled at $1,557 an ounce.