* Weekly initial jobless claims unexpectedly fall
* FedEx drops on quarterly profit forecast
* Ford Motor jumps on Barclays upgrade
* Indexes: Dow up 0.2, S&P off 0.04, Nasdaq up 0.08
* For up-to-the-minute market news see []
(Updates to close, changes byline)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Sept 16 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little
changed on Thursday as mixed economic data and a cautious
forecast from economic bellwether FedEx kept the market locked
in its recent tight trading range.
Shares in FedEx Corp <FDX.N> fell 3.7 percent to $82.72
after the company, seen as a proxy for economic demand because
of the wide swath of industries it serves, forecast quarterly
profit below Wall Street's expectations and warned the recovery
may slow. For details, see []
A drop in initial jobless benefit claims to a two-month low
in the most recent week was not enough to lift stocks, while a
gauge of business activity in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic showed a
contraction for a second straight month in September.
[]
The S&P 500 has settled into a range between support at its
200-day moving average around 1,115 and resistance around
1,130. Attempts to pierce 1,130 have been thwarted several
times since June, including this week.
"We are just in the same growth path we were before the
double-dip fears -- that is why the market is just kind of
stuck, volumes are kind of low, and there is no conviction one
way or the other," said John Canally, investment strategist and
economist for LPL Financial in Boston.
"Today, jobless claims were good, corporate earnings data
not so good, and that's the tug of war you are in today."
The Dow Jones industrial average <> gained 22.10
points, or 0.21 percent, to 10,594.83. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> dropped 0.40 points, or 0.04 percent, to
1,124.67. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> gained 1.93
points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,303.25.
Also on Thursday, The Labor Department said the seasonally
adjusted index for prices paid at the farm and factory gate
increased 0.4 percent, the largest increase in five months,
after gaining 0.2 percent in July.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected producer prices to
rise 0.3 percent last month. In the 12 months to August,
producer prices increased 3.1 percent, slowing from the prior
month's 4.2 percent increase.
The Philadelphia Fed's survey, expected by a Reuters poll
of economists to show growth in manufacturing, showed falling
activity for the second consecutive month and was a reminder of
the pressure still on the recovery.
Weakness in FedEx spilled over to the rest of the sector.
Rival United Parcel Service Inc <UPS.N> shed 1.4 percent to
$66.72, and the Dow Jones Transportation average <.DJT> lost 1
percent.
Ford Motor Co <F.N> rose 4.8 percent to $12.44 after
Barclays upgraded the stock to "overweight" from "equal
weight," saying the U.S. automaker's earnings power has risen,
driven by its vehicles and U.S. pricing. []
A Reuters poll of institutional investors and strategists
found U.S. stocks are expected to make strong gains before
year-end as worries about a second recession subside.
[]
Volume was light with about 6.5 billion shares traded on
the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and
Nasdaq, well below last year's estimated daily average of 9.65
billion.
Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by
four to three, while on the Nasdaq, decliners beat advancers by
about five to three.
(Editing by Padraic Cassidy)
