The market's major indexes drifted in and out of positive territory as they have much of the week ahead of today's employment report. The report, showing the number of new jobs created or lost during the month, is considered one of the most critical indicators of the economy's health.

"There's been a lot of speculation about where the number might come in and how the market might react, so it makes sense for this to be a bit of a directionless day," said Brian Pears, head equity trader at Victory Capital Management in Cleveland.

Investors, who have traded listlessly for weeks in the absence of galvanizing economic or earnings data, were disappointed again yesterday. They seemed put off by a Commerce Department report that orders to U.S. factories fell by 0.5 percent in January. Weaker demand for transportation equipment pulled the overall number down. Excluding transport, factory orders rose 1.4 percent.

But there was some upbeat news: The number of new applications filed for unemployment benefits declined more than expected last week, the Labor Department said. The reading was seen as a sign that companies are feeling more confident about the economy.

Separately, the department said productivity of American workers grew at a modest 2.6 percent annual rate during the final three months of 2003. That matched analyst forecasts, but was slightly slower than the 2.7 percent pace estimated by the government last month.

The lack of significant employment growth has been a sticking point in the recovery. Although companies seem to be laying off fewer workers, they haven't been in a rush to hire people back.