Stocks fell Thursday in a lightly traded session on the final day of 2009 as investors considered a better-than-expected report on U.S. jobless claims at the end of a big year on Wall Street. U.S. markets are closed Friday. As of Wednesday's close, the Dow industrials are up 20.2 percent in 2009, the broader Standard & Poor's 500 was up 24.7 percent, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq was up 45.1 percent. Stocks are up even more substantially since bottoming in March. Since closing at a 12-year low on March 9, the Dow has gained 61 percent and the S&P 500 has gained 66.5 percent. Since closing at a six-year low on the same date, the Nasdaq is up 81 percent. In economic news, the number of Americans filing first-time claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly fell to 432,000 last week, the lowest level since July 2008. Light sweet crude oil for February delivery rose 8 cents to $79.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold for February delivery rose $3.70 to $1,096.20 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 120.46, or 1.1 percent, to 10,428.05. The S&P 500 index fell 11.32, or 1 percent, to 1,115.10. The Nasdaq composite index fell 22.13, or 1 percent, to 2,269.15. The New York Stock Exchange composite index fell 56.28 to 7,184.96. The American Stock Exchange composite index rose 1.06 to 1,824.94. And the Russell 2000 index fell 8.02 to 625.39.
