Stocks Retreat on Mixed Economic Data

Earlier gains on Wall Street were erased by early afternoon Thursday as disappointing retail sales tempered a positive outlook on jobless claims.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 54.26 points, or 0.53 percent, to 10,195.28 after jumping 65.67 points earlier in the day. The S&P 500 fell 4.36 points, or 0.40 percent, to 1,094.02. The NASDAQ slipped 1.47 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,279.60.

A lackluster May and April followed a solid first quarter when shoppers showed more willingness to pay full price. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index improved in May for the third straight month. Although, it remained below what’s considered healthy.

Labyrinthian superstore Costco was considered one of the best places to shop as sales increased nine percent. Costco was also named the best place to shop in the United States in terms of prices, value and shopping experience, according to a recent survey of Consumer Reports’ readers.

Department stores Dillards, Kohl’s, JCPenney and Target rounded out the top five. The world’s largest retailer, Walmart, and Kmart were last on the list.

Jobs: More new jobs were created for the fourth month in a row as private employers added 55,000 members to their ranks in May. Payroll processor ADP said that’s down slightly from a revised increase of 65,000 in April.

“The slow pace of improvement from February through May is consistent with the pause in the decline of initial unemployment claims that occurred during the winter months,” the report said.

The ADP report follows on the heels of a separate jobs number released Wednesday by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. and comes a day before the government’s May employment report.

The number of people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time also declined. The Labor Department said Thursday that there were 453,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ended May 29, down 10,000 from an upwardly revised 463,000 the previous week.

Although, the government also said 4.66 million people filed continuing claims in the week ended May 22. That’s up 31,000 from the preceding week. Continuing claims reflect people who file each week after their initial claim until the end of their standard benefits, which usually last 26 weeks. The figures do not include those who have moved to state or federal extensions, nor people who have exhausted their benefits.

World Markets: Stocks largely edged higher around the world. European shares all gained more than one percent while Asian markets ended the day mixed. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 1.62 percent and the Nikkei in Japan gained 3.24 percent. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.73 percent.

Currencies & Commodities: The euro lost its gains against the dollar while dipping an additional 0.01 percent to $1.2267. The greenback also gained against the British pound, Japanese yen and Chinese yuan.

Oil prices gained 24 cents to $73.10 for July delivery. Gas prices continued to fall after dipping to a national average of $2.716 from $2.723 a day earlier.

Gold prices fell $13.60 an ounce to $1,207.00 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.