Dow Closes At Third Straight Record High, But How Long Can the Streak Last?

Jonathan Corpina, senior managing partner at Meridian Equity Partners, weighs in with IBTimes TV's Jessica Menton on the latest economic data and a preview of Friday's unemployment rate. U.S. stocks edged up in early trade on Thursday, after jobless claims data suggested a pick-up in the labor market recovery. The Dow hit record highs this week, hitting levels not seen since October 2007, shortly before the Great Recession began. The Dow hit an intraday record for now the third session in a row, climbing as high as 14,345 after the Dow surged to a record on Tuesday.China has overtaken the US as the world's largest net importer of oil, the Financial Times reported.The European Central Bank announced this morning that they were keeping interest rates unchanged even though last week unemployment in Europe hit a new all-time high. The ECB held its benchmark rate at a record low and the Bank of England stuck with its target for quantitative easing, while the Bank of Japan dismissed calls that it begin asset purchases.The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week to a seasonally adjusted 340,000, and it was the second straight week of declines.Investors are looking ahead towards Friday's unemployment rate as analysts expect no key changes on February's nonfarm payrolls and unemployment. Economists are predicting that the Labor Department will report a gain of 160, 000 non-farm payroll figures, and that the unemployment rate will stay at 7.9 percent.