NEW YORK (AP) - The stock market wavered for a second day Thursday as investors weighed disappointing news from the retail industry against more positive signals on the U.S. economy.
Investors were looking ahead to Friday's jobs report, as well as the start of corporate earnings season.
Retailers were among the hardest hit stocks on Thursday.
Bed Bath & Beyond plunged $9.93, or 13 percent, to $69.75 and Family Dollar fell $1.37, or 2 percent, to $64.97, making them the biggest decliners in the S&P 500. Both companies cut their earnings forecasts following a disappointing holiday season.
The reports of tepid sales disappointed investors, who have been seeing signs for several weeks that the U.S. economy was improving and that shoppers were returning to the malls.
It appears that the economy, while improving, still has some weak spots.
Even the bright spots in the retail industry had caveats. Department store giant Macy's jumped $3.96, or 8 percent, to $55.80 after the company forecast a 2014 profit that was above Wall Street's forecasts. At the same time, Macy's said it would eliminate 2,500 jobs as part of a reorganization that aims to save $100 million a year.
At the close of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 17.98 points, or 0.1 percent, to 16,444.76. The S&P 500 added 0.64 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 1,838.13 and the Nasdaq composite lost 9.42 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,156.19.
Stocks surged into the end of 2013, but the momentum hasn't continued into the first trading days of 2014. The Dow and S&P 500 are down less than 1 percent this year.