Stocks slip Thursday morning - UPI.com NEW YORK, May 3 (UPI) -- U.S. stocks slipped early Thursday after the Labor Department reported non-farm labor costs had risen 2 percent in the first quarter. Labor productivity fell 0.5 percent on an annual basis with productivity up 2.7 percent and hours worked up 3.2 percent. The department also said there were 27,000 fewer first-time unemployment benefit claims filed in the week ending Saturday. During the week, 365,000 initial benefit claims were filed. The European Central Bank in Germany elected to keep its lending rate intact at 1 percent, giving markets in Europe a boost. But markets in New York lost ground. In midmorning trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average shed 12.67 points, 0.1 percent, to 13,255.90. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index lost 6.02 points, 0.2 percent, to 3,053.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 1.99 points, 0.14 percent, to 1,400.32. The 10-year benchmark treasury note fell 1/32 to yield 1.933 percent. The euro fell to $1.3147 from Wednesday's $1.3158. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 80.36 yen from 80.13 yen. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index added 0.31 percent, 29.30, to 9,380.25.