Dow ...Stocks edged lower on Thursday

Dow closed almost flat..after a choppy session...

Stocks edged lower on Thursday as an unexpected rise in initial jobless claims and unimpressive July retail sales dimmed optimism ahead of the monthly payrolls report.

Investors were cautious before Friday's jobs report, and after a 10 percent rise in the S&P 500 since July 2. Thursday's data showed initial claims for jobless benefits rose to 479,000, the highest level since early April.

"The claims data today was miserable and obviously it has a negative implication for the non-farm number tomorrow," said Phil Orlando, chief equity market strategist at Federated Investors, in New York.

"But the important thing tomorrow is going to be what are the organic, permanent underlying trends in private payroll, manufacturing payrolls, household survey, etc."

If Friday's employment data pushes the S&P 500 to a close above its June high, charts show there's little in the way for the benchmark to further extend the summer rally.

The S&P 500's recent consolidation just below its June high opens the door for a strong gain as the charts show little overhead resistance.

"The important level is that 1,131, the intraday high on June 21. That's what we're kind of keeping an eye on," said Craig Peskin, co-head of technical analysis research at Concept Capital in New York.

He said failing to pierce 1,131 leaves the market stuck in a range, if not vulnerable to breaking lower.

And after a decisive move beyond that level "the next natural resistance would be the bounce off the flash-crash low, at 1,173," Peskin said.

The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI:^DJI - News) slipped 5.45 points, or 0.05 percent, to 10,674.98. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (^SPX - News) dropped 1.43 points, or 0.13 percent, to 1,125.81. The Nasdaq Composite Index (Nasdaq:^IXIC - News) lost 10.51 points, or 0.46 percent, to 2,293.06.

Economists polled by Reuters are expecting Friday's U.S. Labor Department report to show a drop of 65,000 in non-farm payrolls in July as temporary U.S. Census Bureau jobs dried up. Private employers are expected to have added 90,000 jobs.

Weakness in consumer spending trends also stayed in focus as the 28 retailers tracked by Thomson Reuters reported July same-store sales that rose only 2.9 percent -- falling short of analysts' expectations for a 3.1 percent gain.

source http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Stocks-dip-on-jobless-claims-rb-3495388551.html?x=0&.v=13

Index Value:	10,674.98
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