Wall Street flat after poor factory order data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were little changed on Thursday as investors bet dismal November sales from retailers signaled the low point for U.S. stores, offsetting a report showing factory orders plunged for a third straight month in October.

Retailers announced bleak November same-store sales, including a 10.4 percent drop from Target, but investors snapped up their shares on the belief the worst is behind the beaten-down sector, lifting the S&P retail index 4.3 percent.

Factory orders tumbled 5.1 percent, the largest drop since July 2000 and more than forecast by Wall Street. Shares of manufacturer 3M Co fell 1.2 percent to $60.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 2.15 points, or 0.03 percent, at 8,589.54. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 0.41 point, or 0.05 percent, at 870.33. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> slid 1.70 points, or 0.11 percent, at 1,490.68.

Shares of Merck & Co. dropped 2.5 percent after the drugmaker forecast 2009 earnings and revenue that were below expectations.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Kenneth Barry)