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subject aircraft insurance
By Anupama Chandrasekaran NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. blue chips fell on Thursday after reports of lackluster November sales at some retailers and a $1 drop in oil prices that sent energy stocks lower. AnnTaylor Stores Corp. (ANN.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) fell 10 percent to $20.01 after it reported sales at stores open at least a year fell 8.3 percent in November on lower store traffic. Gap Inc. (GPS.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) slipped 5.3 percent to $21.29 after it said its sales at stores open at least a year fell 4 percent in November as demand slowed for holiday merchandise. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 15.74 points, or 0.15 percent, at 10,574.48. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 1.91 points, or 0.16 percent, at 1,189.46. The technology-laced Nasdaq Composite Index was up 3.17 points, or 0.15 percent, at 2,141.40. A larger-than-expected rise in weekly unemployment insurance claims also put a damper on stocks a day after a rally pushed the S&P 500 to its highest in nearly 3 1/2 years. "The market is reacting to the large rally it had yesterday and right now it is in the process of digesting the retail sales data and the slight uptick in jobless claims numbers," said Brian Belski, fundamental market strategist at U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray. "Prices are likely to firm up as the day proceeds." Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) fell nearly 1 percent to $50.72 and ChevronTexaco Corp. (CVX.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) dropped 1.6 percent to $52.64 as oil prices tumbled to an 11-week low below $45 a barrel after an increase in U.S. heating oil stocks eased worries of a winter supply squeeze. The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits jumped an unexpectedly large 25,000 last week, a government report said, while the number of longer-term unemployed fell to the lowest since April 2001. Wednesday's rally was sparked by solid economic data and a 7 percent drop in oil prices. Crude prices extended their fall on Thursday. U.S. crude oil futures (CLc1: Quote , Profile , Research ) were down $1.49 a barrel at $44. Shares of computer makers such as Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL.O: Quote , Profile , Research ) fell after Morgan Stanley lowered to 9 percent from 11 percent its 2005 growth forecast for personal computer, or PC, units. Apple fell $1.08 to $66.68. Booming orders for new military aircraft boosted overall orders to U.S. factories by 0.5 percent in October, the government reported, though demand was flat when defense was excluded. The October increase exceeded Wall Street economists' forecasts for a smaller 0.3 percent gain.
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