Wall Street opens flat after data; Citigroup down

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks opened flat on Thursday as the latest economic data pointed to improving conditions, though investors were reluctant to make big bets amid tensions in Ukraine and a drop in Citigroup shares.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 2.96 points or 0.02 percent, to 16,266.03, the S&P 500 <.SPX> lost 3.48 points or 0.19 percent, to 1,849.08 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> dropped 9.178 points or 0.22 percent, to 4,164.401.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Nick Zieminski)