U.S. stocks are closing lower as uncertainty builds ahead of report on the labor market. Slightly better news on claims for unemployment insurance gave stocks an early lift Thursday, but the gains faded quickly as traders looked ahead to Friday's jobs report from the Labor Department. The Dow Jones industrial average came within two points of 11,000 before turning lower for most of the day. According to preliminary calculations, the Dow fell 19, or 0.2 percent, to close at 10,949. The S&P 500 index fell 2, or 0.2 percent, to 1,158, while the Nasdaq rose 3, or 0.1 percent, to 2,384. Falling stocks narrowly outpaced rising ones on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 915 million shares. 