Stocks Ended Mostly Lower ahead of Jobs Report

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Thursday as investors jumped to the sidelines to await the release of the December jobs report on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 17.98 points, or 0.11%, to 16,444.76. The S&P 500 index gained 0.64 point, or 0.03%, to 1,838.13. The Nasdaq Composite fell 9.42 points, or 0.23%, to 4,156.19.

Alcoa Inc.’s quarterly earnings fell short of Wall Street estimates. The company reported a net loss of $2.3 billion, or $2.19 a share, on revenue of $5.59 billion. Excluding one-time items, Alcoa would have reported earnings of 4 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet estimated 6 cents a share on revenue of $5.36 billion.

Sears Holdings Corp. reported a 7.4% decline in quarter-to-date holiday season comparable sales. Sears U.S. comparable sales tumbled 9.2% and Kmart sales dropped 5.7%. Sears Canada sales fell 4.4%. The company forecast an adjusted loss in the quarter ending Feb. 1 to be $2.01 to $2.98 a share. For the year, it projected an adjusted loss of $7.64 to $8.61 a share.

Four auto dealers in Southern California and five others around the country agreed to settle with the Federal Trade Commission over charges of deceptive advertising that misled consumers about low prices and financing when buying cars.