Afternoon Markets: Dow up despite record unemployment claims

US markets posted gains in early trading, despite expectations they would be in the red following un...

US markets posted gains in early trading, despite expectations they would be in the red following unemployment claims reaching record highs of 6.5 million this week. The Dow Jones was up 0.43% to 8,320.89, the Nasdaq climbed 1.10% to 1,682.49 and the S&P 500 rose 0.55% to 888.82. Citigroup saw the largest gains, up 2.35% to 3.49p having yesterday filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to register more shares as part of its plan to convert preferred stock to common stock in an effort to boost capital. Meanwhile, Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, was down 1.09% to 49.49...