Stocks Finish Lower Ahead of Jobs Report

Ahead of the meeting, Spain raised €2.52 billion ($3.3 billion) in three- and five-year bonds, just above the top end of its targeted range of €1.5 billion to €2.5 billion. But borrowing costs at the auction rose given the deep concerns about the Spanish economy.

The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong shed 0.3%. The Japanese market is closed Thursday and Friday for national holidays.

In corporate news, Dow component Kraft Foods (KFT) dipped less than 1% ahead of its first-quarter results then reported an operating profit of 57 cents a share for the March-ended period on revenue of $13.09 billion after the closing bell. Analysts were calling for earnings of 56 cents a share on revenue of $13.05 billion.

Costco Wholesale (COST), the warehouse retailer, said its same-store sales rose 4% in April. Total sales rose 7% to $7.25 billion. The stock closed down 2.2%.

Kensey Nash (KNSY), a medical-devices company, agreed to be acquired by Dutch high-performance materials maker Royal DSM for $38.50 a share. The cash bid, which has been approved by the Kensey Nash board, is a 33% premium to Kensey Nash's closing price of $29.01 on Wednesday. Share of Kensey Nash soared more than 30%.

Buyout firm Carlyle (CG) made its public debut on Thursday, pricing its IPO below expectations at $22 per share. The stock closed up a nickel.

In commodity markets, the June crude oil contract was off $2.67 to settle at $102.54 a barrel. June gold futures were down by $13.20 to close at $1,634.80 an ounce.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury slipped 2/32, lifting the yield to 1.936%. The dollar index was up 4 cents at 79.22.

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-- Written by Andrea Tse in New York.



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