Stocks slip in light trading

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks turned lower Thursday after a survey showed an unexpected drop in business activity in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The Dow Jones industrial average (down 18.75 to 12,445.12, Charts), the broader S&P 500 index (down 3.82 to 1,419.71, Charts) and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite (down 4.42 to 2,423.19, Charts) all fell modestly about three hours into the session.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank's survey showed regional factory activity tumbled unexpectedly in December.

Stocks were flat before the report, and even a steep decline in oil prices wasn't enough to bring investors into the market ahead of the holiday break.

"With oil prices down a lot, the fact that stocks aren't doing much is a good indication that people are at least mentally - if not physically - on vacation," said Charles Lieberman, chief investment officer of Advisors Capital.

Also on the economic front, the Commerce Department said gross domestic product, the broadest measure of the nation's economic activity, grew at a slower pace in the third quarter than previously estimated. (Full story)

The Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose to 315,000 last week, exactly as predicted.

And the Conference Board said its index of leading economic indicators inched higher 0.1 percent to 138.2 in November, also meeting expectations on Wall Street.

On the 30 shares in the Dow, 20 fell and 10 rose.

Elsewhere, Best Buy (up $1.16 to $49.52, Charts) shares climbed 2 percent after Credit Suisse raised its rating on the electronics retailer to "outperform" from "neutral."

Jabil Circuit (down $2.82 to $23.74, Charts), an electronics contract manufacturer, sank 10 percent. The company late Wednesday issued a disappointing sales outlook for the current period.

Bed Bath & Beyond (down $1.53 to $38.40, Charts) also disappointed investors with its quarterly earnings report released after the market close Wednesday. The home goods retailer reported a higher quarterly profit, but the results fell short of forecasts. Shares tumbled nearly 4 percent.

Ohio-based regional bank Huntington Bancshares (Charts) announced late Wednesday it had agreed to buy another Ohio-based regional bank, Sky Financial Group (up $3.44 to $27.73, Charts), for $3.6 billion. Sky shares surged 14 percent.

The Amex Oil index (down $12.43 to $1,186.53, Charts) and Amex Gold Bugs index (down $6.02 to $328.78, Charts) both dipped about 1 percent amid a decline in commodities prices.

Market breadth was mixed. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers narrowly beat winners on volume of 628 million shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers barely topped decliners as 839 million shares changed hands.

U.S. light crude oil for February delivery sank $1.15 to $62.57 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Treasury prices edged higher, lowering the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 4.58 percent from 4.59 percent late Wednesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

The dollar edged higher against the euro and the yen.

COMEX gold lost $1.10 to $623.20 an ounce.

In global trade, Asian stocks closed mostly lower, although Japan's Nikkei posted a gain. Stocks in Europe finished mixed.

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