US stocks slip as Wall Street makes its final moves ahead of Friday’s jobs report

(Mark Lennihan/AP, FILE) This July 15, 2013, file photo, shows a sign for Wall Street outside the New York Stock Exchange.

(AP) — U.S. stocks drifted lower on Thursday as financial markets locked in their final moves before a highly anticipated update coming Friday about the U.S. job market.

The S&P 500 fell 0.5% for its first drop in four days. After sprinting through May and rallying within a couple good days’ worth of gains of its all-time high, the index at the center of many 401(k) accounts has lost momentum.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 108 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.8%.

Trading activity in options markets suggests investors believe the next big move for the S&P 500 could come on Friday, when the U.S. Labor Department will say how many more jobs