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The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 14.34 points (0.13%) to 11 081.74 points by 1410 GMT, and the broader S&P 500 index was down 1.87 points (0.16%) at 1 176.23 points.
The tech-rich Nasdaq composite index fell 2.74 points (0.11%) to 2 438.51.
One hour before the markets opened, a string of economic data painted a mixed, though mostly negative, picture of current economic conditions.
The US trade deficit jumped to $46.3bn in August as the gap with China hit a new record high, according to the Commerce Department.
The growth in imports nevertheless indicates that retailers are stocking up in expectation of an increase in sales.
At the same time, rising food and energy prices pushed up inflation at the wholesale level for the third month in a row in August, by 0.4%.
New claims for unemployment benefits rose by 13 000 last week, to 462 000, well above the 450 000 level expected by economists.
The previous week's claims figure was revised upward to 449 000, from 445 000.
The latest data did not significantly change expectations on Wall Street for the Federal Reserve to resume major asset purchases in a bid to boost the weak economic recovery, in what is known as quantitative easing.
"This batch of economic data took some steam out... yet the smell of quantitative easing has kept buyers interested in the baker's goods," said Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.com.
In corporate news, traders were keenly awaiting quarterly earnings results from Internet giant Google after the market closes.
Yahoo! soared nearly 7% on reports that several companies, including AOL, are looking into buying out the Internet search engine company.
JPMorgan Chase's shares continued to slide, losing 2.5% in early trade, one day after the American bank posted stronger than expected quarterly earnings with profits rising 23% from last year to $4.4bn.
The bond market was mixed.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond rose to 2.44% from 2.43% on Wednesday, while that on the 30-year bond slipped to 3.80% from 3.83%. Bond yield and prices move in opposite directions.
