Stocks waver on jobs data, Libya unrest

By Melinda Peer, TheStreet

Updated at 1:10 p.m. ET

Stocks were lower as a better-than-expected​ reading on jobless claims was overshadowed by continued fears that climbing oil prices caused by the conflict in Libya could derail the economic recovery.

At 1:10 p.m., the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) was down 67.5 points, or 0.5%, at 12,038. The S&P 500 ($INX) was down 6.5 points, or 0.5%, at 1,300 and the Nasdaq ($COMPX) was down up 0.3 points, or 0.01%, at 2,723.

Oil is again trading above $100 as violence in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, creates concerns about continued production disruptions in the North African country. Libya has the biggest oil reserves in Africa, and although it is only the world's 15th-largest exporter, investors fear that political unrest could spread to major oil producers such as Iran or Saudi Arabia. Crude oil for April delivery was trading $1.14 higher at $99.24 a barrel and has reached a high of $103.41 today.

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The Energy Information Agency said crude oil inventories rose by 822,000 barrels in the week ended Feb. 18, which was lower than the increase of 1.4 million barrels that analysts had expected, according to a Platts survey.

Late Wednesday, the American Petroleum Institute said oil supplies gained 163,000 barrels.

The number of first-time jobless claims fell by 22,000 to 391,000 during the week ended Feb. 19, less than the 410,000 economists had expected. That's down from 413,000 in the previous week, the Labor Department said.

Jim Baird, partner and chief investment strategist for Plante Moran Financial Advisors said the 4-week moving average, which shed 16,500 to 402,000 in the week ended Feb. 19, is also a positive development since “it closes in on the sub-400,000 level not seen since July 2008.”

”When we look to current risks to the economy, the unrest in the Middle East and rising oil prices are high on the list, although oil prices would still need to move much higher from current levels to be a serious threat,” Baird said. “With companies still resisting any expansive hiring, the long road back to full employment is another underlying risk to sustained growth.”

The Commerce Department said durable goods orders rose 2.7% in January, as expected. December's decline was revised to 0.4% from the previously reported 2.5%. Excluding transportation, orders dropped 3.6%, compared with estimates of a 0.6% gain.

Housing data, however, was disappointing. New-home sales fell 12.6% to 284,000 in January, missing expectations for a decline to 310,000 from December's previously reported level of 329,000, according to Briefing.com.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s housing price index dipped 0.3% in December, after remaining unchanged in the prior month.

There were 249 million shares trading on the New York Stock Exchange, 57% of which were rising while 39% were losing ground. On the Nasdaq, 485 million shares changed hands.

Toyota (TM) is voluntarily recalling 2.2 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles sold in the U.S. because of unintended acceleration issues requiring a fix to carpet and floor mats that can shift and interfere with the gas pedal. The stock was rising 0.1% at $90.32.

In company news, shares of Priceline.com (PCLN) were advancing 7.7% to $459.16 after the online travel company reported better-than-expected​ earnings on stronger bookings late Wednesday.

E-Trade Financial's (ETFC) stock was off by 5.8% at $15.68 after the online broker said major shareholder Citadel Investment Group plans to sell nearly 24 million of its common shares in a secondary offering.

General Motors (GM) posted an adjusted profit of 52 cents a share for its most recent quarter, beating estimates of 46 cents. Sales of $36.9 billion beat a $33 billion target. The stock was off by 5.1% at $32.82.

Sears Holdings (SHLD) named Lou D'Ambrosio as CEO and president. The retailer reported a fourth-quarter profit that topped estimates even though U.S. same-store sales fell 1.2%. The shares were losing 5.1% to $82.70

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The April gold contract was rising by 2 cents at $1,414.20 an ounce.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury up by 9/32, diluting the yield to 3.450%. The dollar was weakening against a basket of six currencies, with the dollar index down by 0.3%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.3%, and Japan's Nikkei dropped 1.2%. London's FTSE was shedding 0.5%, and the DAX in Frankfurt was off by 0.9%.

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