Government reports jump in weekly jobless claims; U.S. trade gap narrows NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks shifted up and down in volatile Thursday trade as the market tried to absorb rising unemployment claims and reduced outlooks from Intel Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. "This market has been pricing in at a very fast pace some pretty bad news." said Art Hogan, chief market strategist, Jefferies & Co. After rising more than 100 points at the start only to lapse into negative turf early on, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ) was more recently off 2.95 points at 8,279.71. Fifiteen the blue-chip index's 30 components gained, led by petroleum giant Exxon Mobil Corp. , up 3%. Intel erased earlier declines to climb fractionally after it late Wednesday offered a pessimistic outlook, warning fourth-quarter revenue would be as much as 17% lower than previously forecast due to "significantly weaker-than-expected demand in all geographies and market segments." Dow component Wal-Mart Stores fell 1.1% after the retailing giant reported a better-than-forecast 10% profit rise in the third quarter but lowered its 2008 earnings view. Read details. The S&P 500 climbed 2.14 points to 854.44, with telecommunication services, utilities and energy shares fronting gains among the S&P's 10 industry groups. Consumer discretionary and information technology proved the early laggards. The technology-laden Nasdaq Composite fell 8.81 points to 1,490.4. Dour data The Labor Department said filing for jobless benefits rose to 516,000 last week in another sign of a struggling economy. Read Economic Report. "We know the unemployment rate is going higher, that is what happens in recession. We knew people weren't buying PCs, so Intel's pre-announcement was in large part expected, and we also know that Wal-Mart continues to be the leader of retail sales. People are shopping, they are just trading down," said Hogan. Other early data had the U.S. trade gap narrowing to $56.5 billion in September, offering further evidence of a global economic slump. See full story. U.S. stocks slumped Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 411 points, the S&P 500 losing 46 points and the Nasdaq Composite dropping 81 points. The drop came as Best Buy warned over its profit outlook, Google traded at its worst level since 2005 and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson shelved the idea of buying troubled mortgage assets. Weekly energy inventory also will be released. The International Energy Agency again reduced its view of global energy demand, though it still expects growth this year and next. Oil futures gained $1.34 to $57.5 a barrel. See Futures Movers. Overseas, Germany officially fell into recession with its second straight quarter of contraction, while China industrial production growth decelerated to 8.2% in October from 11.4% in September. Siemens AG , the engineering giant, said its quarterly loss widened to $3.1 billion though it surprised some by holding onto profit guidance for the current fiscal year. Crocs Inc. plunged 51.6% as the footwear maker reported a $148 million loss and warned of further losses ahead. The Nikkei 225 slumped 5.3% in Tokyo. The FTSE 100 slipped 1.3% in London.

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