Stocks slip as they close out a weak, holiday-shortened week

Stocks on Wall Street are drifting lower Thursday, threatening to send the S&P 500 to its first losing week in the last four following some discouraging reports on the economy, the Associated Press reported.

The S&P 500 was 0.4% lower in early trading, and it’s on pace for a 0.9% loss for the week. The U.S. stock market will be closed Friday for a holiday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 105 points, or 0.3%, at 33,377, as of 9:50 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.7% lower.

A report on Thursday morning showed that fewer U.S. workers filed for unemployment benefits last week, though the number was still higher than expected. The government changed how it tracks the numbers, which could cause some swings, and the number of workers getting continuing claims for benefits rose to the highest level since December 2021.

Thursday’s data followed a string of reports on the economy earlier in the week that were weaker than expected. That included everything from the number of job openings across the country to the strength of the U.S. manufacturing and services industries.