Dartline™ … Closing Thoughts. 

July 29, 2010, 4:00 pm EDT .. Closing Thoughts — The Standard and Poor’s 500 index closed down 4.60 to 1101.53, as conflicting economic signals confused traders. Low volume and lack of new participants suggests further weakness. Disappointed drop in unemployment benefits claims can freeze enthusiasm. The Labor Department said initial claims for unemployment benefits dropped by a modest 11,000 to 457,000 last week, which was at par with forecast by economists polled by Dartline, but investors were disappointed because the drop was less than anticipated. … Oil prices were off midweek to below $77 a barrel before regaining some ground on Thursday. Absent any big catalyst, analysts expect that type of action to continue. Oil rallied $8 since the beginning of the month, and drawback overdue on weaker economic news in the U.S. Meanwhile, the Energy Information Administration showed a surprise build in crude supplies. Crude stocks climbed by 7.3 million barrels last week, while analysts expected inventories to fall by 2.3 million barrels.