Wall Street gnawed on a muddle of economic data and corporate earnings Thursday, pushing stocks lower after a brief rise.
The American consumer's buying power was thrown into doubt early on after Costco, Macy's and Target posted disappointing April sales. Colder temperatures and renewed concerns about the economy weighed on shoppers.
Worker productivity fell sharply in the first three months of the year, the government said. That's a mixed sign, auguring higher costs for businesses but holding out the promise of renewed hiring.
The labor market has been on traders' minds all week because the government's closely watched monthly jobs report is due out Friday. In the final major indicator before that announcement, the government said the number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell last week by the most in three months.
The competing indicators offered little direction for major stock indexes. They opened lower, rose slightly in the first 15 minutes of trading, then turned solidly lower for much of the day.
European stocks closed lower, giving up earlier gains, after the head of the European Central Bank signaled that it will not inject more cash into the region's fragile banking system.
U.S. stocks traded sideways because traders are "balancing between a weak close for European stocks and trying to bet on what (the jobs report) will look like," said Peter Tchir, who runs the hedge fund TF Market Advisors.
GM shares fell 2 percent after the automaker said its first-quarter profit declined, mainly on losses in Europe.
If Europe's debt crisis spills over into the U.S., one of the major threats will be lower sales for American exporters to Europe such as GM and Caterpillar. Caterpillar lost one percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 46 points to 13,222 as of 12:05 p.m. EDT. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost seven to 1,394. The Nasdaq composite average fell 28 to 3,031.
The Carlyle Group, a big, politically-connected private equity firm, edged higher after an initial public offering of some 30.5 million common units worth $671 million.
The company priced its stock below the expected range late Wednesday. Carlyle, trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker "CG," has about $147 billion in assets under management.
Other swinging stocks:
? Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. plunged 50 percent, the most in the Russell 2000 index of small companies. The maker of single-cup coffee machines and cartridges said late Wednesday that its earnings for the fiscal year ending in September will be far below its previous forecast and analysts' estimates. Green Mountain shares have lost more than three-fourths of their value since September.
? Cablevision Systems Corp. dropped eight percent after its first-quarter revenue fell short of analysts' expectations and profit declined sharply.
? Viacom Inc., owner of MTV and Paramount Pictures, rose three percent after saying its net income rose sharply as its TV networks brought in more revenue.
? Orbitz Worldwide Inc. rose four percent after narrowing its first-quarter loss and beating analysts' estimates.
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Daniel Wagner can be reached at www.twitter.com/wagnerreports.
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