Stocks slip Thursday

U.S. stocks slipped Thursday after the Labor Department reported non-farm labor costs had risen 2 percent in the first quarter. Labor productivity fell 0.5 percent on an annual basis with productivity up 2.7 percent and hours worked up 3.2 percent. The department also said there were 27,000 fewer first-time unemployment benefit claims filed in the week ending Saturday. During the week, 365,000 initial benefit claims were filed. The European Central Bank in Germany elected to keep its lending rate intact at 1 percent, giving markets in Europe a boost. But markets in New York lost ground. In early afternoon trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average shed 79.27 points, 0.6 percent, to 13,189.30. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index lost 36.59 points, 1.2 percent, to 3,023.26. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 11.11 points, 0.79 percent, to 1,391.20. The 10-year benchmark treasury note rose 1/32 to yield 1.926 percent. The euro fell to $1.3145 from Wednesday's $1.3158. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 80.31 yen from 80.13 yen. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index added 0.31 percent, 29.30, to 9,380.25. In London, the FTSE 100 index added 0.15 percent, 8.44, to 5,766.55.