Wall Street drops before jobs data, LinkedIn up late

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Thursday as economic data sent mixed signals on the recovery a day before the April payrolls report, while shares of Green Mountain plunged after poor results.

Slower-than-expected growth in the dominant U.S. services sector drove the day's trading. The retail sector dragged the market lower after several chains, including Target Corp and Gap Inc , fell after missing April sales estimates.

Market expectations for Friday's non-farm payrolls report have fallen this week. Traders now suspect the economy added 125,000 to 150,000 jobs in April, below a Reuters consensus forecast of 170,000. One trader said there had even been some talk of a number below 100,000.

Still, the S&P 500 kept up its flirtation with new four-year highs, although it has struggled to rise above resistance at the 1,400 level.

Ryan Larson, head of equity trading at RBC Capital Management, said muted reactions to recent signs of economic weakness suggest some investors are counting on more monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve if the data gets worse.

"You are going back to 'bad numbers are good numbers'," he said, referring to the latest change in Wall Street's perception of discouraging data. "The market will believe that (Fed Chairman) Bernanke & Co will have to step in."

Shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters lost 47.8 percent to $25.87 a day after the company badly missed sales estimates for the second time in three quarters. The stock was the second-biggest drag on the Nasdaq 100