The U.S. stocks failed to bounce back into positive territory on Thursday, as disappointing economic data from the eurozone and Japan weighed on the market.

The main stock indices opened lower, subdued by the weak equity market in Europe, as the GDP of the euro area in the fourth quarter contracted 0.6 percent, the steepest drop since the first quarter of 2009. Besides, the GDP of Japan in the same quarter also shrank 0.1 percent.

But stocks later rebounded modestly, boosted by upbeat U.S. jobs data. The number of Americans applying for initial jobless benefits in the last week dropped by 27,000 to a seasonally adjusted 341,000, pointing to a sustained recovery in the job market, the U.S. Labor Department reported on Thursday.

Shares of AMR Corporation, the parent company of American Airlines, soared after the air carrier and U.S. Airways announced on Thursday that the boards of directors of both companies had unanimously approved a definitive merger agreement, under which the two would combine to create a premier global carrier. But U.S. Airways shares tumbled.

H.J. Heinz shares surged after it said that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital would buy the food company.

Shares of General Motors slipped after the auto giant said that its profit fell in 2012 mainly due to losses in Europe.

Cisco shares also dropped, although the world's largest maker of computer networking equipment beat market estimates on its latest quarterly earnings.

In midday trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 14.02 points, or 0.10 percent, to 13,968.89. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock Index went down 0.78 points, or 0.05 percent, to 1,519. 55. The Nasdaq Composite index lost 2.53 points, or 0.08 percent, to 3,194.35. Endi