US stocks drift mixed

US stocks ended mixed after fresh economic data came nearly within expectations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 45.50 points (0.42 per cent) to 10,779.17 in closing trades, marking an eight-session winning streak that took the blue-chip index to almost 18-month highs. The Nasdaq composite added 2.19 points (0.09 per cent) to 2,391.28 while the broad-market Standard & Poor s 500 index slipped 0.39 points (0.03 per cent) to a provisional close of 1,165.82. Analysts said the market reacted to Labor Department data on February consumer prices and new weekly jobless insurance benefit claims that effectively showed the economy continued to ...

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