Wall Street lower as Greece, China weighs

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks were lower in late morning trading, a day after the Nasdaq closed at a record high and amid concerns about a Greek default, a tumble in Chinese shares and an unexpected rise in weekly jobless claims.

Conflicting statements on Greece's long-running debt talks with international creditors added to the pressure of a plunge in China due to fears of regulatory steps to reduce leverage in the red-hot market.

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose to 282,000 last week, but remained below 300,000, a levels consistent with a strengthening labor market.

The report is the latest in a string of data that investors have been perusing for signs of an economic pick up to gauge when interest rates will be increased.

"We still think September is the best time for a rate hike, but the pace is going to be slow and methodical," said Terry Sandven, chief equity strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Minneapolis.

Wednesday was the strongest day for the S&P 500 since May 14 and the Nasdaq Composite's strongest since late January, lifting it to its first record close since April 24.

However, low volumes and muted trading activity at the start of summer suggested the gains were not sustainable.

"The stocks are struggling to maintain their swagger and said there is also the seasonality overhang as we go into summer when complacency sets in," said Sandven.

At 11:47 a.m. EDT (1547 GMT) the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was down 63.83 points, or 0.35 percent, at 18,099.16, the S&P 500 <.SPX> was down 7.06 points, or 0.33 percent, at 2,116.42 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> was down 16.47 points, or 0.32 percent, at 5,090.13.

Nine of the 10 major S&P 500 sectors were lower, with the industrials sector's <.SPNY> falling the most at 0.6 percent.

Avago shares fell 0.1 percent to $141.38, reversing course after touching a record high. Avago agreed to buy fellow chipmaker Broadcom for $37 billion. Broadcom fell 2.2 percent to $55.85. Both stocks had risen strongly on Wednesday on reports of an imminent deal.

Abercrombie & Fitch rose 10.1 percent to $21.64 after the teen apparel retailer said it expects comparable sales to improve through the year.

GoPro jumped 7.8 percent to $57.49 on reports that the action camera maker will launch a new spherical camera mount and a drone.

Sanderson Farms fell 4.6 percent to $80.60 after the poultry producer reported lower-than-expected quarterly net sales and profit.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 2,100 to 840, for a 2.50-to-1 ratio on the downside. On the Nasdaq, 1,574 issues fell and 1,045 advanced for a 1.51-to-1 ratio favoring decliners.

The S&P 500 index showed 12 new 52-week highs and six new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 60 new highs and 38 new lows.

(Editing by Savio D'Souza)

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