NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Stocks opened lower Thursday, weighed down by a disappointing fourth-quarter profit report from Amazon.com.

The Dow Jones industrial average (up 44.85 to 10,596.79, Charts) lost 0.2 percent while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index (up 3.78 to 1,193.19, Charts) gave up 0.3 percent. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq composite (Charts) fell 0.5 percent.

Online retailer Amazon.com (unchanged at $41.88, Research) reported fourth-quarter earnings of $149 million, or 35 cents a share, compared to analysts' 40 cents a share expectations, according to Thomson Financial.

In economic news, the government reported that fourth-quarter productivity rose just 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter, the smallest gain reported in four years and far less than the forecast of a 1.8 percent gain from economists surveyed by Briefing.com.

Initial jobless claims dipped unexpectedly to 316,000 last week from 325,000 the week before. Economists had forecast that claims would rise to 330,000.

Later Thursday morning investors will also get readings on the state of both manufacturing and the service sector. The government report on factory orders is forecast to be up 0.6 percent for December, down from the 1.2 percent gain in November.

The Institute of Supply Management's services index is forecast to slip to 61.0 from 63.9. That's still well above the 50.0 level that indicates growth at non-manufacturing companies.

Oil prices were lower in early trading Thursday. The March light crude contract lost 30 cents to $46.39 a barrel in electronic trading, while Brent crude fell 49 cents to $43.52.

Bond prices edged lower, pushing the yield on the 10-year Treasury note to 4.18 percent from 4.14 percent late Wednesday. The dollar edged higher against the yen and the euro.

Asian-Pacific bourses ended mixed Thursday, and major European markets were lower in midday trading.