Stocks fall back from record ahead of jobs report
By STEVE ROTHWELL, Associated Press
Apr 3, 2014 2:38 PM CDT
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, April 3, 2014. Stocks indexes are edging higher as investors become more optimistic about the outlook for the U.S. economy. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)   (Associated Press)

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks dropped for the first time in five days Thursday, pulling back from an all-time high as traders refrained from making any big bets ahead of Friday's monthly job report.

KEEPING SCORE: The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell two points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,888 as of 3:30 p.m. Eastern time. The index closed at an all-time high of 1,890 a day earlier. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped four points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 16,570. The Nasdaq composite fell 41 points, or 1 percent, to 4,234.

JOBS FRIDAY: Economists expect that the U.S. economy added 200,000 jobs in March, according to FactSet. That would be the biggest gain in hiring since November and would help build optimism about the outlook for growth. The Labor Department's report is published on Friday at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

RECORD BREAKER: The stock market rallied to a record Wednesday after some encouraging news on the economy this week. Reports on manufacturing and hiring have suggested that the economy is starting to strengthen after a lull caused by unusually harsh weather this winter. There was more good news on Thursday. The Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing index rose to 53.1 in March, up from 51.6 in February, indicating that growth in the service sector is picking up. The survey also showed hiring picking up.

"The market does seem to be getting pretty excited about each new data set," said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer at Common Financial Network, an investment adviser. "So, with the economy continuing to strengthen, you very well could see the market continuing to rise."

BIOTECH SLUMP: The S&P's index of biotechnology stocks fell 2.1 percent, dragging down health care stocks. Biotech stocks have become volatile in the recent weeks amid concerns about the cost of drugs. The index is up about 3 percent this year after climbing as much as 13 percent by the end of February.

BOOK ENDS: Barnes & Noble fell $3.23, or 14.6 percent, to $18.88 after Liberty Media said it was cutting its stake in the company. Liberty Media, the investment company controlled by billionaire John Malone, gave Barnes & Noble a lifeline in 2011 when it bought a 17 percent stake in the company.

SPLIT ENDS: Google's stock split took effect Thursday. Google's new Class C non-voting shares were little changed at $568.10, while its Class A shares were also little changed at $569.91. The Class A shares, which have been traded since the company went public nearly a decade ago, now trade under the ticker symbol "GOOGL." The Class C shares inherited the "GOOG" ticker symbol.

SETTLEMENT BOOST: Anadarko Petroleum jumped $12.68, or 14.8 percent, to $99.30 after the company announced that it had reached a $5.15 billion deal to settle claims arising from the 2009 bankruptcy of paints materials maker Tronox. A U.S. bankruptcy court judge said in December that Anadarko Petroleum may be liable for between $5 billion and more than $14 billion in the legal battle.

BONDS AND COMMODITIES: Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.79 percent from 2.80 percent on Wednesday. The price of oil rose 67 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $100.29 a barrel. Gold fell $6.20, or 0.5 percent, to $1,284.60 an ounce.

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