Indices closed in the red Thursday. Financial and technology brands such as Bank of America and Hewlett-Packard traded lower. Stocks took a breather ahead of tomorrow’s monthly jobs report. Services industry growth dipped in April. The Institute for Supply Management’s nonmanufacturing index slipped to 53.5, from 56 in March. Meanwhile, the Labor Department said initial jobless claims declined by 27,000 to 365,000 last week. The prior week’s numbers were revised from 388,000 to 392,000. On another note, Facebook, the leading social-networking site, is seeking as much as $11.8 billion in its initial public offering. This will be the largest on record for an Internet company.
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