US STOCKS-S&P 500 closes down, snapping four-day rally

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window.)
(Updates to market close)
By Stephen Culp
June 4 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 lost ground on Thursday as
investors took profits in advance of Friday's jobs report,
ending a four-day rally driven by rising economic sentiment.
The Nasdaq joined the S&P 500 in negative territory, while
the blue-chip Dow posted a nominal gain.
"We were pretty overvalued going into this week," said Chris
Zaccarelli, chief investment officer, Independent Advisor
Alliance, Charlotte, NC. "It's not surprising to see a
pullback."
The market has shown remarkable resilience since its late
March plunge, and the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow remain within 3%,
9% and 12% of their respective record highs reached in February.
"This market has gone up so far so fast there's a lot of
people saying, 'I'm going to take a little profit,'" said Jim
Paulson, chief investment strategist at The Leuthold Group in
Minneapolis.
Economic data showed the number of Americans filing for
unemployment benefits dipped below 2 million for the first time
since mid-March, and plummeting international commerce resulted
in a net widening of the U.S. trade gap. Friday's much-anticipated jobs report from the Labor
Department is expected to show the U.S. unemployment rate
sky-rocketing to a historic 19.7%.
Violent protests overnight against the death of George Floyd
appeared to abate as prosecutors brought new charges against the
officers implicated in the killing. The European Central Bank approved a stimulus package that
surpassed expectations, nearly doubling the size of its Pandemic
Emergency Purchase Plan to 1.35 trillion Euros. Its American counterpart, the U.S. Federal Reserve, is due
to meet next week for its two-day policy meeting. Unofficially, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose
0.04% to end at 26,281.61 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX lost
0.34% to 3,112.33.
The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 0.69%, to 9,615.81.

American Airlines Group Inc AAL.O announced it would beef
up its flight schedule in July to 55% of its year-ago capacity
as the U.S. economy reopens, sending its shares soaring.
The hard-hit ARCA Airline index .XAL also jumped on the
news.
Global online commerce platform EBay Inc EBAY.O advanced
after raising current quarter forecasts due to a surge in
customer orders. The Department of Justice gave anti-trust approval for
Charles Schwab Corp's SCHW.N purchase of TD Ameritrade Holding
Corp AMTD.O .
Shares of J.M. Smucker Co SJM.N fell after the packaged
food company forecast a decline in full-year sales.