US STOCKS SNAPSHOT - Wall Street eases after mixed data

NEW YORK Jan 31 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday after a mixed bag of economic data gave more reasons for investors to be cautious ahead of the all-important jobs report due on Friday.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 45.62 points, or 0.33 percent, to 13,864.80. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 3.69 points, or 0.25 percent, to 1,498.27. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.18 point, or 0.01 percent, to 3,142.13.