Stocks drop after rise in jobless claims

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NEW YORK - Wall Street slipped Thursday after the Labor Department reported a spike in jobless claims, sapping some of the market's confidence ahead of Friday's anxiously anticipated March employment report.

Wall Street was disappointed to hear the government say the number of people applying for unemployment benefits rose by a full 38,000 last week to 407,000 — the highest level since September 2005. The less volatile four-week average of claims also increased, by 15,750 to 374,500.

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