Stocks struggled to find direction despite mostly positive vibes from Thursday’s economic data dump. New unemployment-benefits filings for the week ended Sept. 11 rose by 20,000 claims to 332,000 – slightly higher than expected, but still near the pandemic-era lows. Moreover, the four-week moving average for claims declined to 335,750, which is the lowest such figure since March 2020. More clearly positive were August headline retail sales, which rose 0.7% month-over-month, surprising economists who on average had forecast a 0.7% decline. “American shoppers bounced back nicely in August even as another wave of the virus sent confidence plunging, suggesting decent underlying support from growing employment and excess savings,” says Sal Guatieri, senior economist for BMO Capital Markets. “Strength in general merchandise (3.5%) and furniture (3.7%) was tempered by virtually no change in clothing and food services.” Another upside surprise came from the Philadelphia Fed factory index, which came in at 30.7 in September from 19.4 in August, signaling a sizable jump in the region’s manufacturing activity. Investors weren’t quite sure what to do with the info. Sign up for Kiplinger's FREE Investing Weekly e-letter for stock, ETF and mutual fund recommendations, and other investing advice. The Dow Jones Industrial Average swung from an early 129-point gain to a 274-point loss before stabilizing to a mere 63-point (0.2%) decline to 34,751. The S&P 500 (-0.2% to 4,473) and Nasdaq Composite (+0.1% to 15,181) experienced similar up-and-down rides. Other news in the stock market today: More