NEW YORK, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. stock markets were mixed Thursday after the Labor Department said first-time unemployment claims soared in response to Hurricane Sandy. In afternoon trading Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 34.79 points or 0.28 percent to 12,536.16. The Nasdaq was off 9.07 points or 0.32 percent to 2,837.74. The Standard and Poor's 500 dropped 2.54 points or 0.19 percent to 1,352.95. The benchmark 10-year treasury was up 2/32, yielding 1.588 percent. The euro rose to $1.2774 from Wednesday's $1.2735. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 81.18 from 80.25 yen. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index gained 1.9 percent, 164.99 points, to 8,829.72 In London, the FTSE 100 index lost 0.77 percent, 44.26, to 6,577.75.