Market expectations for weekly initial unemployment claims (from Econoday) were 625 K to 730 K (consensus 699 K), and the Department of Labor reported 719,000 new claims. The more important (because of the volatility in the weekly reported claims and seasonality errors in adjusting the data) 4 week moving average moved from 729,500 (reported last week as 736,000) to 719,000 Analyst Opinion of Initial Unemployment Claims