U.S. AVERAGES

Retreating crude oil prices relieved some of the pressure from stocks, after earlier reaching a record $68 per barrel in overnight electronic trading and market remained into positive territory.

The gold sector turned to the upside and is now up about 1.3%. Tech sector supports stocks with gains in the disk drive, semis and computer hardware segments.

The chemical and software sectors show slight losses.

Coldwater Creek (CWTR: chart) hit a fresh 52-week high, following its earnings report after the closing bell Wednesday.

Amylin Pharmaceuticals (AMLN: chart) extended gains made earlier in the week, while Six Flags (PKS: chart) reached a new peak on news that it has decided to put itself up for sale.

Verizon (VZ: chart) plummeted to a new 52-week low. PETCO (PETC: chart) is also down after a disappointing earnings news from rival PetSmart (PETM: chart). Applebee (APPB: chart) continued its guidance-related slide.

Shares of Toll Brothers added 1.6% after it posted 3Q profit that more than doubled from a year ago, as revenue climbed 54% to $1.56 billion.

General Electric said it would purchase a 26% stake in Garanti Bank, the third-largest private bank in Turkey. Shares of GE slipped a penny.

York International surged 37% after Johnson Controls disclosed a bid to buy the heating and air-conditioning company for $2.4 billion, or $56.50 a share. Johnson's shares added 7%.

Eastman Kodak (EK: chart) continued its job-cutting program, saying it planned to reduce about 900 jobs as the result of shuttering some facilities and expects to take charges worth $153 million. About half the job cuts will take place in Rochester, N.Y., where Kodak is based.

Vonage Holdings Corp., provider of residential phone services over the Internet, is planning an initial public offering to raise as much as $600 million, according to reports. Vonage provides discounted local and long-distance phone services to about 800,000 households. The Edison, New Jersey-based company declined comments on the matter.

JoS. A. Bank Clothiers (JOSB: chart) said it plans to open about 46 new stores in the second half of fiscal 2005, giving it a full-year total of 60. At least 25 of these are expected during the third quarter, according to the company. Over the next 4 years, JoS. A. Bank Clothiers plans to grow the chain to about 500 stores.

Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC: chart), the fifth largest U.S. bank, will also be in focus on news that it was interested in bidding for British bank Lloyds TSB.

ECONOMIC NEWS

First-time filings for state unemployment benefits declined by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 315,000 last week, the Labor Department reported. This is the lowest level since the week ended August 6. The growth in claims met economists' expectations. The four-week average of new claims advanced by 1,250 to 315,000, the highest since July 3.

INTERNATIONAL MARKET NEWS

European shares slipped in mid-day dealings after oil prices hit record levels in electronic trading, dragging airlines and auto makers down. The German DAX 30 Index dropped 1.2% to 4857.9 and the French CAC 40 Index lost 1.1% to 4375.3. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid 0.2% to 5253.5.

Indonesian shares climbed after a week of declines on expectations that the central bank and government would soon unite to defend the rupiah, which dropped to a 3 1/2-year low. The Jakarta Stock Exchange's Composite Index closed up 2.6% at 1,061.847. The Indonesian currency closed at 10,340 vs. the dollar from 10,280 Wednesday.

Brazil's currency and stocks advanced in early trading Thursday. The real added 0.9% to 2.418 per U.S. dollar, while the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange's benchmark Bovespa index was up 0.71% at 26,901 points.

Tokyo's benchmark stock index dropped from a four-year high Thursday. The Nikkei 225 index closed at 12,405.16 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange; down 0.78% vs. Wednesday.