Stocks Close Flat on Economic Woes

N E W  Y O R K, Aug. 9 -- Stocks fell nominally as investors got fresh, yet largely unsurprising,evidence of the U.S. economic stagnation, along with mixed newsabout July retail sales.

A mixed batch of retail sales reports were among the latestcauses of investor jitters, after retailers like Abercrombie &Fitch reported a bigger-than-expected drop in Julysales.

The economic outlook was no less grim, following a rise injobless claims and Wednesday's downbeat "beige book" summary ofregional economic conditions released on Wednesday, painted apicture of lagging growth.

"There are all these incremental pieces of news showingthat the economy is still slowing — there's nowhere to run toand no place to hide, " said Donna Van Vlack, director oftrading at Brandywine Asset Management.

Major stock indexes pulled up from their session lows,struggling back after Wednesday's brutal session, but analystswere doubtful the market would make a significant come-back.

"At this point, who isn't a skeptic?" said Charles Payne,analyst at Wall Street Strategies. "We're getting all kinds ofcontradictory signals from the market. At least on a short-termbasis, I think everyone would have to agree that the market isoversold, but that still doesn't mean it's going to rebound."

The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 5.06points, or 0.05 percent, to 10,298.56, according to the latestdata, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 3.04 points,or 0.16 percent, to 1,963.32, escaping by four points a nearlyfour-month closing low. The benchmark Standard & Poor's 500index fell 0.10 of a point to 1,183.43.

Economic Data Depresses Investors

Heightening worries about the nation's economy, the LaborDepartment said the number of Americans seeking first-timeclaims for jobless benefits jumped by 33,000 in the latestweek, more than economists surveyed by Reuters had expected.

In addition, retailers slammed Wall Street withdisappointing sales.

Still, some traders said the bad news was widely expected,providing some ballast to an already pounded stock market.