MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks Edge Lower In Choppy Trading

By Anora Mahmudova, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks drifted lower in a choppy trading session on Tuesday. Urban Outfitters slumped after disappointing earnings, while Macy's and J.C. Penney rallied after an upgrade from analysts.

The S&P 500 (SPX) inched down 5 points, or 0.1%, to 1,874.52, retreating from record levels.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) lost 35 points, or 0.1%, to 16,396.87.

The Nasdaq Composite (RIXF) slipped 3.2 points, or 0.1%, to 4,331.25.

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"Markets are confused right now, after getting conflicting set of data. On the one hand, job openings indicated demand for workers and improvement in labor market, on the other, wholesale inventories rose, as businesses overshot and could not sell goods sooner," said Kim Caughey Forrest, portfolio manager and senior equity analyst at Fort Pitt Capital.

Job openings rose in January in line with expectations. There were 3.97 million openings compared with 3.91 million in December. The so-called Jolts survey is one of the pieces of labor market data that Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen has said she pays attention to.

U.S. wholesale inventories rose in January while wholesale sales fell, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

Small-business sentiment, released before the market open, slumped in February. According to the National Federation of Independent Business, its small-business index dropped by more than expected, on concerns over sales, the economy and employment driving the downturn.

Among individual stocks, retailers were in the spotlight. Shares of American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (AEO) tumbled 5.9% after fourth-quarter profit and outlook disappointed.

Shares of Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) fell 5.2% after the company reported results on Monday that revealed a drop in fourth-quarter same-store sales late Monday.

Shares of Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. (DKS) rose 3% after the company posted results that largely met forecasts.

Shares of Macy's (M) and J.C. Penney rose after upgrades from analysts.

J.C. Penney Co. (JCP) shares jumped 8.6% after the retailer was upgraded to buy from neutral by Citigroup. Analyst Oliver Chen expects that the company's "going back to basics" strategy will spur positive comparable sales in line with the retailer's outlook.

Macy's rose 2% after analysts at Wells Fargo raised the stock to outperform from market-perform.

Shares of La Jolla Pharma Co. (LJPCD) soared 65%, tracking a rally late Monday after the microcap biotech said its study for a chronic kidney disease treatment showed a statistically significant improvement.

Fuel Tech Inc. (FTEK) shares sank 14% after the air-pollution-control technology company's results fell short of Wall Street expectations late Monday.

In other markets, Asia stocks managed flat-to-positive closes after Monday's mauling, with the China Shanghai Composite Index closing up 0.1%. European stocks closed slightly higher. Copper prices (HGK4), hit particularly hard by that downbeat Chinese export data on Monday, managed a gain of 1 cent.

Commodity prices were volatile today. Oil prices, which perked up earlier, were little changed by noon. Gold prices, which reached $1,350 on worries over Ukraine, in the afternoon gave up gains and turned lower. Benchmark Treasury yields also ticked lower, after being higher in the morning.

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