In the first five minutes of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 16.42 points (0.13 percent) to 12,922.25. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.91 points (0.10 percent) to 2,930.26, and the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index retreated 1.90 points (0.14 percent) to 1,355.76. New claims for US unemployment benefits, a key indicator of the pace of layoffs, held steady last week, the Labor Department reported, while the four-week moving average continued to fall. The jobless claims report "failed to inspire a bid," said David Campione at Briefing.com Traders are "awaiting a new catalyst" to inspire buying, he said. Wall Street stocks ended modestly lower Wednesday on continuing recession fears.