Disappointment over weekly jobs data weigh on Wall Street

Stocks on Wall Street closed slightly lower on Thursday after higher-than-expected jobless claims and lacklustre retail sales data dampened the economic outlook before the monthly report on the job market, due on Friday.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell five points, or 0.05%, at 10,675. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index lost one point, or 0.13%, to 1,126, while the Nasdaq composite index was down 10 points, or 0.46%, at 2,293.

The US Labour Department on Thursday disclosed that seasonally adjusted initial unemployment claims last week increased by 19,000, to 479,000. Analysts had estimated a slight fall in initial claims.

Meanwhile, retailers reported that sales at stores open at least a year were weaker than expected last month, increasing only 2.9% from a year earlier.

Technology, financials, consumer staples and healthcare stocks were slightly lower. Bank of America fell 17 cents at $14.02. Citigroup declined four cents, to $4.10. Microsoft lost 36 cents, to $25.37 and Pfizer fell 25 cents, to $16.19.

Investors fled to less risky assets like treasury bills on concerns that the jobs figure on Friday would be another disappointment. Economists polled by Reuters expect the U.S. Labour Department report to show a decline of 65,000 in non-farm payrolls last month. Private employers are expected to have added 90,000 jobs.

After taking hit from the jobless claims, the market looked for direction after European Central Bank and the Bank of England had kept monetary policies unchanged.

In Europe, shares closed lower after higher-than-expected profits from Barclays and Commerzbank failed to dispel concerns over the underlying health of Europe's top banks. The FTSEurofirst 300 shed 0.23% to 1,069. The UK’s FTSE 100 fell 0.4%, Germany's DAX was flat and France's CAC 40 added 0.1%.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei rose 1.7%, helped by top carmaker Toyota Motor Corp, which unveiled its best operating profit in two years. On Friday, the exchange fell 1% on poor US jobless claims.

Chinese stocks retreated on Thursday after the banking regulator reportedly instructed lenders to conduct further “stress tests” to measure the effect of real estate prices plunging by as much as 50% in certain key cities. The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.7% to 2,621, while the Hang Seng index ended flat at 21,551.72.