Wall Street Inches Closer to High      12/04 15:25

   The U.S. stock market held near its records in a quiet day of trading on 
Thursday, continuing its relatively calm run following weeks of sharp and scary 
swings.

   NEW YORK (AP) -- The U.S. stock market held near its records in a quiet day 
of trading on Thursday, continuing its relatively calm run following weeks of 
sharp and scary swings.

   The S&P 500 inched up by 0.1% and is just 0.5% below its all-time high. The 
Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 31 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq 
composite rose 0.2%.

   Dollar General helped lead the market and rallied 14% after reporting a 
stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. More customers 
shopped at its stores, and it also squeezed more profit out of each $1 in sales 
that it made.

   Hormel rose 3.8% after likewise reporting a better profit than expected, 
thanks in part to strength for its Planters nuts and Jennie-O turkey offerings. 
It also gave a forecasted range for profit in the upcoming year whose midpoint 
was above analysts' forecasts.

   Salesforce, meanwhile, climbed 3.7% after swinging between gains and losses 
earlier in the morning. It delivered a better profit for the latest quarter 
than analysts expected, though its revenue fell just short.

   CEO Marc Benioff extolled how Salesforce is "uniquely positioned for this 
new era" of artificial-intelligence technology, even if worries continue that 
all the world's spending on AI may not end up worth it.

   Besides such worries about potential overinvestment in AI, concerns about 
what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates had sent U.S. stocks on 
sharp swings since it set its all-time high in late October.

   After some back and forth, the general expectation on Wall Street is now 
that the Fed will indeed cut its main interest rate next week in hopes of 
shoring up the slowing job market. If it does, that would be the third such cut 
this year.

   Investors love lower interest rates because they boost prices for 
investments and can juice the economy. The downside is that they can worsen 
inflation, which is stubbornly remaining above the Fed's 2% target.

   But Treasury yields ticked higher Thursday following another rise for 
Japanese government bonds. Expectations for a coming Fed cut to rates also took 
a very slight hit after reports suggested the U.S. job market may be a bit 
better than expected.

   One report said fewer U.S. workers filed for unemployment last week. The 
number was the lowest in more than three years.

   A separate report said that the number of layoffs announced last month fell 
by more than half from October's surge. It still was above year-ago levels, 
though, according to outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray 
& Christmas.

   While better-than-expected data on layoffs is of course good news for U.S. 
workers, it could also indicate the job market doesn't need as much help from 
lower interest rates.

   The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.10% from 4.06% late Wednesday. 
While the move was relatively modest, increases in yields can discourage some 
buyers from buying stocks and other investments instead of bonds.

   Among the stocks falling on Wall Street was Kroger, which dropped 4.6%. The 
grocer reported weaker revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, 
though its profit beat forecasts. It also lowered the top end of its forecasted 
range for an important measure of revenue this year, while raising the bottom 
end by less.

   Snowflake sank 11.4% despite topping analysts' expectations for profit and 
revenue in the latest quarter. Analysts at UBS said the company's stock may be 
feeling a letdown after excitement grew so much after it blew past expectations 
in the quarter just before. Growth in product revenue also decelerated a bit in 
the latest quarter.

   All told, the S&P 500 rose 7.40 points to 6,857.12. The Dow Jones Industrial 
Average dipped 31.96 to 47,850.94, and the Nasdaq composite gained 51.04 to 
23,505.14.

   In stock markets abroad, indexes rose modestly in Europe following a mixed 
finish in Asia.

   Japan's Nikkei 225 index jumped 2.3%, while South Korea's Kospi slipped 0.2%.