The U.S. stocks ended mixed on Thursday as oil prices eased after breaking the important psychological level of 100 dollars a barrel.
Stocks have been under severe pressure this week as investor feared the unrest in Libya would spread to more countries in the region, especially to those oil-rich countries like Iran and Algeria.
However, oil prices pulled back on Thursday after two days of bull run, which pushed crude up about 14 percent, easing concerns that surging oil prices would uplift companies' upstream costs and hurt consumer spending.
The economic data came in mixed on Thursday, providing little direction for the market.
The U.S. Labor Department said before the opening bell that applications for unemployment benefits dropped by 22,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 391,000, the third decline in the past four weeks.
Meanwhile, the four-week average of initial claims dropped to 402,000, the lowest since the middle of 2008, indicating the jobs market was showing some signs of recovery.
Also weighing on the market, sales of new homes fell significantly in January, which indicated that the housing market was still one of the weakest links in the economy. According to the Commerce Department, new-home sales dropped to a seasonally adjusted rate of 284,000 units last month, less than half the level that economists view as healthy.
Among the stocks in focus, General Motors fell more than 4 percent even after the car maker reported a 510-million-dollar profit in the fourth quarter and 4.7 billion dollars for the year, boosted by strong sales in domestic market and also in China.
Priceline.com Inc jumped 8.5 percent, helping the Nasdaq to end in positive territory, after a number of brokerages raised their price targets on the stock. The online travel agency reported a larger-than-expected profit late Wednesday.
As of Thursday's close, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 37.28 points, or 0.31 percent, to 12,068.50. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slipped 1.30 points, or 0.10 percent, to 1,306.10. The Nasdaq gained 14.91 points, or 0.55 percent, to 2,737.90.
Stocks have been under severe pressure this week as investor feared the unrest in Libya would spread to more countries in the region, especially to those oil-rich countries like Iran and Algeria.
However, oil prices pulled back on Thursday after two days of bull run, which pushed crude up about 14 percent, easing concerns that surging oil prices would uplift companies' upstream costs and hurt consumer spending.
The economic data came in mixed on Thursday, providing little direction for the market.
The U.S. Labor Department said before the opening bell that applications for unemployment benefits dropped by 22,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 391,000, the third decline in the past four weeks.
Meanwhile, the four-week average of initial claims dropped to 402,000, the lowest since the middle of 2008, indicating the jobs market was showing some signs of recovery.
Also weighing on the market, sales of new homes fell significantly in January, which indicated that the housing market was still one of the weakest links in the economy. According to the Commerce Department, new-home sales dropped to a seasonally adjusted rate of 284,000 units last month, less than half the level that economists view as healthy.
Among the stocks in focus, General Motors fell more than 4 percent even after the car maker reported a 510-million-dollar profit in the fourth quarter and 4.7 billion dollars for the year, boosted by strong sales in domestic market and also in China.
Priceline.com Inc jumped 8.5 percent, helping the Nasdaq to end in positive territory, after a number of brokerages raised their price targets on the stock. The online travel agency reported a larger-than-expected profit late Wednesday.
As of Thursday's close, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 37.28 points, or 0.31 percent, to 12,068.50. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slipped 1.30 points, or 0.10 percent, to 1,306.10. The Nasdaq gained 14.91 points, or 0.55 percent, to 2,737.90.
