Indices closed in the red zone Thursday. JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America led decliners on the Dow. Early momentum faded as the session progressed. Stocks traded lower today ahead of the monthly employment report, which is on deck for tomorrow. Meanwhile, the Labor Department said initial jobless claims decreased by 12,000 to 409,000 last week. On another note, crude oil added 12 cents to settle at $88.93 a barrel. Elsewhere, the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index decreased slightly in August. Falling to 50.6 from 50.9 in July, expectations were for the index reading to slip below 50.
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