Stocks climbed modestly as investors watched fiscal-cliff negotiations. Initial jobless claims fell by 25,000 to 370,000 last week to their lowest level in a month. Tech stocks pushed the market higher with Intel leading gains among the Dow 30 components. Intel gained 1.6% CEO Paul Otellini, who is retiring in May, said his successor would likely be chosen from inside the company. Broadcom rose 3.2%, a day after the chip manufacturer projected fourth-quarter revenue at the upper end of its target range. Netflix rose 3.7%, shrugging off a downgrade from Caris & Co. which cut rating on the video-streaming company to below average, or sell, from average. Akamai jumped 10% after the co. and AT&T announced a deal in which AT&T will use Akamai’s content-delivery network services to serve content across its network, starting in 2013. Zynga rose 7.1% after the co. filed the preliminary paperwork for a gaming license in the state of Nevada. In the evening trade Netflix slid 1.6% after the co. said in a regulatory filing that staff at the SEC are recommending the company and Hastings face civil enforcement because of a posting the company and the executive put on Facebook in July.
