Wall Street down on weak economic data

Amid concerns over weaker-than-expected data on jobless claims and big-ticket durable goods orders, US stocks drifted lower in early trade.

US stocks drifted lower in early trade Thursday amid concerns over weaker-than-expected data on jobless claims and big-ticket durable goods orders.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 36.65 points (0.36 percent) to 10,199.51 in opening trades after moderate gains Wednesday.

The Nasdaq composite slipped 12.33 points (0.56 percent) to 2,209.08 while the Standard & Poor's 500 index shed 2.27 points (0.21 percent) to 1,095.23.

Investors weighed official economic data and company earnings reports ahead of the opening bell and following President Barack Obama's first State of the Union.

The Labor Department reported that seasonally adjusted weekly initial jobless insurance claims in the week ending January 23 fell to 470,000 from the previous week's 478,000 but the figure was still a bit worse than the forecast of most economists of around 450,000.

In addition, the Commerce Department said orders for big-ticket US manufactured goods in December rose 0.3 percent, well below the 2.0 percent expected by economists.

Analysts at Charles Schwab & Co said market sentiment was dampened by ''a disappointing reading of headline durable goods orders and a smaller-than-expected drop in weekly initial jobless claims.''

- The indisputable message from the claims data is that the labor market is still weak - said Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.com.

In his debut State of the Union address, Obama said he wanted legislation to spur jobs on his desk ''without delay,'' as the nation grappled with double-digit unemployment.

Investors were also closely tracking a vote in the Senate for the confirmation of Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke for a second term.

Bernanke's fate hung in the balance as a growing number of senators caught in a new political landscape came out publicly opposed to the Fed chief, claiming he was going too easy on Wall Street banks and doing too little for average Americans.