Another Day, Another Record! Bulls win again.

-- U.S. stock market futures held steady, with the Dow Jones Industrials Average at record high territory, as strength in retailers' September sales results helping offset a spike in crude-oil futures on OPEC's decision to cut output.

S&P 500 futures slipped 0.50 of a point at 1,357.80, while Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.50 of a point at 1,693.00 Dow industrial futures eased 4 points to 11,902.
On Wednesday, the Dow industrials set a new record for the second day in a row, with the Dow jumping 123 points, the Nasdaq Composite rising 47 points and the S&P 500 rising 16 points.

OPEC on Thursday moved to cut production by a million barrels a day, according to published reports, sending crude futures back above the $60 a barrel market in electronic trade. Crude for November delivery rose $1.11 to $60.52 a barrel. See full story.
The U.S. Labor Dept. said initial claims for state unemployment insurance fell 17,000 to 302,000 during the week ending Sept. 30, the lowest mark since July 22.
Bonds fell after the report, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rising 0.023 percentage points at 4.588%.

A gauge of online U.S. employment recruitment slipped in September on reduced demand in the finance and real estate sectors. The Monster employment index fell to 172 in September from a record 173 in August, the online recruiting company said Thursday.

BIOTECH STOCKS WERE MIXED:

BOSTON-- Drug stocks closed mixed Wednesday while shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals slid in the wake of a weakened first-quarter earnings report.
The Amex Pharmaceutical Index edged up 0.4% to close at 325.47 and the Amex Biotechnology Index fell 1.8% to 666.50.
Biotech index component Vertex skidded 7% to $34.82. After market close Tuesday, the anti-viral drug developer reported a quarterly net loss of $50.1 million, or 47 cents a share. This compared to a net loss of $44.7 million, or 56 cents a share, last year.

Biogen Idec dipped as low as $42.52 before closing down marginally at $44.07.
For the first quarter, Biogen posted earnings of $123 million, or 36 cents a share. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company netted $43 million, or 12 cents a share, in last year's corresponding period. Revenue climbed 4% to $611 million, from $588 million last year, but still fell short of Wall Street expectations. See full story.