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Any pullback of the Fed's stimulus should be seen as a positive signal because it would mean that the U.S. economy is getting stronger, said Joe Quinlan, chief market strategist at U.S. Trust. "When the Fed starts to taper, the fundamentals of the U.S. economy have improved even further than we have already seen," said Quinlan. "The Fed tapering is actually a good story for U.S. equities and the economy." Encouraging news about the U.S. economy also helped the case for stock market bulls Thursday. Sales of new homes rose in April to the second-highest level since the summer of 2008, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Also, the median price for a new home hit a record high, another sign that housing is recovering. There was good news on the labor market, too. The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell 23,000 last week to 340,000, a level consistent with solid job growth, the Labor Department said. That suggests employers are laying off fewer workers. The decline in claims has coincided with steady job growth over the past six months. In other U.S. stock trading, the Standard & Poor's 500 index closed down 4.84 points to 1,650.51, or 0.3 percent. The Nasdaq composite fell 3.88 points, or 0.1 percent, to 3,459.42. In commodities trading, the price of crude oil fell 3 cents to $94.25 a barrel. Gold rose $24.40, or 1.8 percent, to $1,391.80 an ounce. The dollar fell against the euro and the yen. In U.S. government bond trading, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note edged down to 2.02 percent from 2.04 percent. The yield on the note falls when the bond's price rises. Among stocks making big moves: Ralph Lauren fell $4.37, or 2.3 percent, to $183.69. The apparel seller reported revenue that fell short of what financial analysts were expecting. Sluggish economic conditions and the decision to cut certain businesses reduced sales. PC maker Hewlett-Packard surged $3.63, or 17.1 percent, to $24.86 after the company delivered second-quarter earnings that topped the estimates of both its own management and financial analysts. Dollar Tree rose $1.82, or 3.8 percent, to $50.19 after the discount store chain said its earnings climbed 15 percent as customers spent more. The earnings beat the expectations of Wall Street analysts who follow the company.
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