国际英语新闻：Dow finishes best September in 71 years on down note

NEW YORK, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Dow Jones industrial average scored both the best September and the best third quarter in more than seven decades, although major indexes finished the session on a down note on Thursday.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 47.23, or 0.44 percent, to 10,788.05. However, the blue-chip index gained 7.7 percent for the whole month, making it the strongest September in 71 years.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 3.53 points, or 0.31 percent, to 1,141.20, trimming its monthly gain to 8.8 percent and its third-quarter advance to 11 percent.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 7.94 points, or 0.33 percent, to 2,368.62, while it rallied more than 12 percent for the month and also scored its eighth best quarterly performance.

Wall Street was steadily higher in September as a string of economic data showed the U.S. economy was recovering at a slow pace. Although the data were far from robust, they were sufficient to ease the concerns about a double dip.

Meanwhile, a statement from the Federal Reserve about further easing on monetary policies also contributed to the month-long rally.

The U.S. stocks gained at Thursday's opening after the Labor Department said the number of people filing for jobless benefits fell by 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 453,000 last week. Although the level was still too high for a healthy economy, it was encouraging for investors to see employers cutting fewer jobs.

Adding to the upbeat tone, the second-quarter growth in the gross domestic product was revised slightly higher to 1.7 percent from the 1.6-percent pace estimated a month ago.

Meanwhile, the Chicago PMI, a business barometer for Chicago- area manufacturing, rose to a seasonally adjusted 60.4 in September, according to the Institute for Supply Management, while economists were expecting a modest drop.

However, major indexes quickly pulled back and dropped into negative territory after the latest batch of better-than-expected economic reports, as investors found it to be the best chance to lock in profits for the quarter.

Among stocks in focus, AIG rose 4.4 percent to 39.10 dollars per share, the second-biggest gain in the S&P 500, as the rescued insurer agreed to wind down its 182.3-billion-dollar bailout by converting the government's stake into common shares for sale.