Apple’s slower growth pulls down Nasdaq, but Dow rises

NEW YORK – A sharp drop in Apple’s stock dragged the Nasdaq down with it after the tech giant warned of weaker sales. Other stock-market indexes eked out slight gains.

Apple sank $63.50 to $430.50. With iPhone sales hitting a plateau and no new products to introduce, Apple said sales would likely increase just 7 percent in the current quarter.

The Nasdaq fell 23.29 points to 3,130.38 on the news. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index edged up 0.01 of a point to 1,494.82. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 46 points to close at 13,825.33.

Requests for jobless aid fall to lowest level in five years

WASHINGTON – The number of Americans seeking jobless benefits fell last week to the lowest level in five years, evidence that employers are cutting fewer jobs and may add some.

The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly unemployment benefit applications dropped 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 330,000. That’s the fewest since January 2008.

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, fell to 351,750. That’s also the lowest in nearly five years.

— From news service reports