US stocks edged lower on Thursday as the latest
string of weak economic data overshadowed better-than-expected corporate earnings.
The US Labor Department said that the number of people applying for jobless benefits declined by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 386,000,
Xinhua reported.
Investors felt disappointed not only because the
initial claims was much higher than analysts had expected but also because the slight improvement was the previous week's number revised higher than originally reported.
Adding to the pressure, sales of previously owned US homes in March unexpectedly fell for the third time in the last four months, showing an uneven recovery in the housing market.
On the earnings front, Morgan Stanley reported a first-quarter loss of $94 million and Bank of America released lower earnings for the first quarter, but they still beat Wall Street estimates.
In midday trading, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 33.08 points, or 0.25 per cent, at 12,999.67. The Standard & Poor's 500 was down 3.73 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 1,381.41. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 2.18 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 3,029.27.
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