Stocks trade in tight range after surprise drop in continued jobless claims; retail sales data

Stocks mixed after data on jobs, retail sales

NEW YORK — Cautious traders are looking for more than just any sign of improvement in the economy.

Stocks zigzagged in a narrow range Thursday after the number of unemployed workers continuing to receive benefits unexpectedly dropped for the first time in 20 weeks.

New jobless claims fell to 621,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 625,000, nearly matching analysts’ expectations.

The drops were small but offered investors a nugget of hope that unemployment could be easing. The data also arrived a day ahead of the government’s crucial tally of monthly job losses. Unemployment has been one of the market’s biggest concerns throughout the recession.

“We’re just really waiting to see what tomorrow’s data is going to bring,” said Kent Engelke, chief economic strategist at Capitol Securities Management.

But enthusiasm over unemployment was checked by concerns about the well-being of retailers after many reported lackluster sales for May. Retailers like Costco Wholesale and Hot Topic posted bigger-than-expected sales slumps as shoppers stuck to their budgets. Sales a year ago benefited from the government’s fiscal stimulus checks.

Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, so how retailers are faring says a lot about the state of the economy.

In the first half-hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 18.65, or 0.2 percent, to 8,656.63. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index slipped 0.08, or less than 0.1 percent, to 931.68, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 5.06, or 0.3 percent, to 1,830.98.