* Initial jobless claims unexpectedly fall last week
* FedEx shrs drop after profit misses view
* Indexes off: Dow 0.1 pct, S&P 0.3 pct, Nasdaq 0.2 pct
* For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US] (Updates to midmorning)
By Leah Schnurr
NEW YORK, Sept 16 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks faltered on Thursday after mixed economic data kept Wall Street locked in a tight trading range, while FedEx shares fell after it forecast profit below estimates.
The market got little direction after initial jobless claims dropped to a two-month low last week but remained high, and U.S. Mid-Atlantic factory activity contracted for the second straight month in September, but at a slower rate. For details, see [ID:nN16247388] and [ID:nN16256269]
Package delivery group FedEx Corp
Even so, market declines were light as traders tried to gauge whether stocks can recapture momentum. The S&P 500 has settled into the top of a trading rage and has found support at its 200-day moving average around 1,115 and resistance at 1,130.
"We've had a lot of negative things thrown at the market this morning, and it's battling back against a lot of economic and other fundamental negative news," said Tom Schrader, managing director of U.S. equity trading at Stifel Nicolaus Capital Markets in Baltimore.
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was off 12.79 points, or 0.12 percent, to 10,559.94. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> slipped 3.02 points, or 0.27 percent, to 1,122.05. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> gave up 5.06 points, or 0.22 percent, at 2,296.26.
A Reuters poll of institutional investors and strategists found U.S. stocks are expected to make strong gains before year-end as worries about a second recession subside. [ID:nN16273656] (Additional reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)