Weaker retails sales, job market news hurt stocks

NEW YORK - Disappointing news about the job market and retail sales are sending U.S. stocks lower in early trading.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell eight points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,811 in the first few minutes of trading Thursday.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 81 points, or 0.5 percent, to 15,882. The Nasdaq composite fell 16 points, or 0.4 percent, to 4,185.

Cisco Systems fell 4 percent after the network equipment maker reported that weaker revenue and charges weighed down its second-quarter earnings.

Comcast fell 3 percent after it agreed to buy Time Warner Cable for $45.2 billion in stock. Time Warner Cable jumped 7 percent on the news. The deal would combine the top two cable TV companies in the United States.