U.S. stock market takes detour from positive economic data

The U.S. stock market continued a recent pattern Thursday by tracking the price of oil while shrugging off good news, with positive data seen as already factored into the market, while moves in China fueled worries about a recovery.

"This week was the first that we've seen recently where we didn't sell off on good news, but we also didn't continue to march higher," said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak.

"In the last couple of days, the market is showing signs of fatigue," Boockvar observed.

On Wall Street, energy shares pared earlier losses, with equities also erasing intraday declines to turn mildly higher as the price of crude oil rose to $72.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier edging below the $70 mark. Read Futures Movers. (more)