Stocks slipped Thursday as Wall Street, still pleased about the Federal Reserve’s rate cut but sobered a bit by mixed earnings reports, stopped to cash in profits from this week’s rally.

Wall Street held onto most of its gains, though, thanks to a strong third-quarter results from Goldman Sachs and a drop in jobless claims. The Labor Department said jobless claims declined by 9,000 last week – a good sign for the economy, particularly given August’s decrease in payrolls. [MORE]