U.S. stocks tick down amid economic data

U.S. stocks slid in the morning session Thursday as investors digested a string of economic reports.

By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 102.94 points, or 0.52 percent, to 19,839.22. The S&P 500 lost 7.92 points, or 0.35 percent, to 2,262.83. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 3.57 points, or 0.07 percent, to 5,473.43. U.S. private sector employment increased by 153,000 jobs from November to December, missing market consensus of 172,000, according to the December ADP National Employment Report released Thursday.

The ADP figure is widely seen as a pre-indicator for the non-farm payrolls report due on Friday.

In the week ending Dec. 31, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 235,000, a decrease of 28,000 from the previous week's revised level.

The four-week moving average was 256,750, a decrease of 5,750 from the previous week's revised average.

Meanwhile, the Non-Manufacturing Index, which measures activity in the U.S. service sector, registered 57.2 percent in December, beating market consensus slightly, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) said in its monthly survey Thursday.

Investors were also sifting through the Federal Reserve's minutes from its December meeting released Wednesday afternoon.

According to the minutes, most participants judged that a gradual pace of rate increases was likely to be appropriate to promote the Federal Open Market Committee's objectives of maximum employment and 2 percent inflation.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks extended gains as Wall Street digested minutes from the U.S. central bank's December meeting. Enditem