From Standard & Poor's Equity Research

MARKETSCOPE: Treasury prices rose on Thursday, as investors fled stocks amid escalating violence between Israel and Lebanon.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 07/32 to 100-14/32 for a yield of 5.07%, while the 30-year Treasury bond climbed 09/32 to 90-21/32 for a yield of 5.12%.

News hit that Initial Jobless Claims rose 19,000 to 332,000 in the week ended July 8 from 313,000 the week before. The number was above the 320,000 expected, with a modest impact from the normal auto plant shut downs. The 4-week moving average rose to 317,250 from 308,500 the week before,

Freddie Mac said the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) fell to an average 6.74% for the week ended July 13 from 6.79% a week ago, but was well up from 5.66% in the year-ago week.

Attention now turns to the Bank of Japan's monetary policy decision Friday. In the U.S. June retail sales are due out tomorrow morning.