January 31, 2013-Stocks Close Lower Looking to Friday's Jobs Report

Stocks showed a lack of direction throughout the trading day on Thursday as traders digested a mixed batch of economic data. Uncertainty ahead of Friday's monthly jobs report also contributed to the lack of conviction among traders. The major averages eventually ended the day in negative territory, although the Nasdaq posted a very slim loss. While the Nasdaq edged down 0.18 points or less than 0.1 percent to 3,142.13, the Dow fell 49.84 points or 0.4 percent to 13,860.58 and the S&P 500 slid 3.85 points or 0.3 percent to 1,498.11. The lackluster performance on Wall Street came as traders expressed uncertainty about whether the recent batch of economic data supports any further upside for the markets. Following yesterday's disappointing fourth quarter GDP report, the Labor Department released a report before the start of trading showing a bigger than expected rebound by weekly jobless claims. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose to 368,000 in the week ended January 26th, an increase of 38,000 from the previous week's unrevised figure of 330,000. Economists had been expecting jobless claims to climb to 350,000 after hitting a five-year low in the previous week.