* Top U.S. retailers miss views for December sales
* Dollar strength hits commodities; US Steel off 2.5 pct
* Nvidia shares rally on optimism over new chip
* Dow down 0.2, S&P down 0.2 pct, Nasdaq up 0.3 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news see []
(Updates to close)
By Ryan Vlastelica
NEW YORK, Jan 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks slipped on Thursday
as soft retail sales and a sharp rise in the dollar left
investors edgy a day before December's U.S. employment report.
Given a rise of about 8 percent in the S&P 500 since the
start of December, investors could be looking for an excuse to
sell stocks if the jobs report falls short of forecasts that
were raised after Wednesday's strong private-sector payroll
report.
"If tomorrow's payroll numbers don't live up to
expectations, that could create the correction that some have
been predicting," said Paul Radeke, vice president at
Minneapolis-based KDV Wealth Management.
Investors expect a gain of 175,000 in overall non-farm
payrolls in December and a decline in the unemployment rate to
9.7 percent from 9.8 percent.
Several big retailers missed estimates in their December
comparable sales, news that weighed on consumer shares. Target
Corp <TGT.N> fell 6.8 percent to $54.91 and Gap Inc <GPS.N> was
6.9 percent lower at $20.70.
The S&P retail index <.RLX> lost 1.6 percent while the S&P
consumer discretionary sector <.GSPD> fell 0.7 percent.
[]
The weakness "was both surprising and disturbing," said
Walter Todd, chief investment officer at Greenwood Capital
Associates in Greenwood, South Carolina. "It makes me think it
had more to do with weather than fundamentals."
The U.S. dollar rose 0.7 percent, helping send crude prices
down 2.2 percent. Oilfield services company Halliburton Co
<HAL.N> dropped 3 percent to $38.22 while U.S. Steel Corp <X.N>
shed 2.5 percent to $59.06.
"Demand for commodities should continue to improve, but in
the short term there's a negative correlation between the
dollar and commodities," Todd said. "That's hard to escape on a
day-to-day basis."
The Dow Jones industrial average <> was down 25.65
points, or 0.22 percent, at 11,697.24. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> was down 2.71 points, or 0.21 percent, at
1,273.85. The Nasdaq Composite Index <> was up 7.69
points, or 0.28 percent, at 2,709.89.
The Nasdaq was buoyed by Nvidia <NVDA.O>, which surged 14
percent to $19.33 on optimism over a new mobile chip.
[]
Also among Nasdaq gainers was Microsoft Corp <MSFT.O>,
which rose 2.9 percent to $28.82 after it took a step away from
its alliance with Intel Corp <INTC.O> to team up with Britain's
ARM Holdings <ARM.L> in the tablet and smart phone arena. Intel
fell 0.8 percent to $20.77. []
Telecommunications shares were among top drags on the Dow,
with AT&T <T.N> down 1.4 percent at $29.15 and Verizon
Communications <VZ.N> off 2.6 percent to $36.23.
New jobless claims rose more than expected in the last
week, though the four-week average dropped to its lowest in
more than 2 years. []
About three stocks fell for every two that rose on the New
York Stock Exchange while on the Nasdaq about five stocks fell
for every four that rose.
About 8.39 billion shares traded on the New York Stock
Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, below last
year's daily average of 8.47 billion.
(Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Kenneth Barry)
