US stocks mixed after sharp sell-off

NEW YORK: US stocks mostly fell Thursday a day after a sharp rout as investors weighed a weaker-than-expected dip in jobless claims ahead of the keenly awaited May job report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 42.61 points (0.35 percent) to 12,247.5 in the first 20 minutes of trade.

The broader S&P 500 index fell 3.98 points (0.30 percent) to 1,310.57, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite struggled higher, gaining 0.14 point (0.01 percent) at 2,769.33.

"Traders are digesting a dip in weekly initial jobless claims and an upward revision to first-quarter productivity," Charles Schwab analysts said in a client note.

The Labor Department reported initial claims for unemployment benefits fell to a seasonally adjusted 422,000 in the week ending May 28, a decrease of 6,000 from the prior week, but the decline was fell short of expectations.

All eyes will be on the Labor Department's May employment data Friday. The consensus estimate for the net non farm jobs created was slashed to 169,000 Thursday from 185,000 the prior day.

The unemployment rate, determined by a separate household survey conducted by the Labor Department, was seen holding unchanged at 9.0 percent from April.

In a separate report, the Labor Department unexpectedly raised its estimate of first-quarter productivity growth to 1.8 percent. Most analysts had expected it would be unrevised at 1.6 percent.

Stocks rebounded from Wednesday's steep sell-off that had been driven by grim jobs and manufacturing data revealing deep weaknesses in the US economy.

The Dow dropped 2.22 percent, the S&P 500 fell 2.28 percent and the Nasdaq shed 2.33 percent.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011