Looking for a catalyst

Stock market averages opened higher and traded in a very narrow range Thursday. Most of the gains were scored early after the Labor Department reported that jobless claims declined by 7,000 last week, pushing the four-week average to five-year lows.Overseas, action was mixed throughout much of Asia and most major markets across Europe scored modest gains on the heels of the latest ECB meeting. The S&P 500 Index (.SPX) traded in a 4-point range and added 2.80 points to 1,544.26. Meanwhile, CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), the index that tracks implied volatility priced into SPX options, dropped .47 to 13.06 and has now lost 15.8 percent in the past week. All eyes will be on the jobs report, as the market ends a week of record-setting gains with strong potential for another market peak on Friday.