Stocks finished mostly in the red as investors took a step back and digested mixed economic news and a slew of earnings reports. Weekly initial jobless claims came in at 366,000, down 5,000 from the previous week but above forecasts. The U.S. business productivity dropped 2% in 2012's fourth quarter, more than economists were expecting. Also, the European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged. Macy's climbed after the retailer reported a better-than-expected 11.7% rise in same-store sales for last month. Gap, Costco, Target and Limited Brands also posted January sales figures that topped forecasts. Slumping Yelp and Akamai Technologies highlighted tech-sector trading, but Apple and BlackBerry bucked the downward trend. Akamai Technologies slumped 15% after reporting disappointing results, Jefferies cut the stock’s rating to hold from buy, citing the potential pressure of the company’s reinvestment plan on margins. Apple rose 3% after Greenlight Capital filed papers to oppose a proposal by Apple to eliminate the ability to issue “blank check” preferred stock. BlackBerry jumped 5.7% after the co. named two new board members, Richard Lynch, former executive vice president at Verizon Communications, and Bert Nordberg, former chief executive of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications.
