By Anna Hirtenstein and Akane Otani

U.S. stocks edged lower Thursday as investors awaited details of the incoming Biden administration's plans for a fresh coronavirus relief package.

President-elect Joe Biden is expected Thursday evening to unveil details on his proposed spending package to support households and businesses. Many investors are counting on additional stimulus to help the economy recoup wide-ranging losses stemming from the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions put in place to fight it.

New jobless claims data showed that 965,000 people applied for unemployment insurance in the week ended Jan. 9, more than economists had expected.

"The economy still needs help," said Douglas Butler, senior vice president and director of research at Rockland Trust. With Democrats in control of both the White House and Congress, there should be more opportunities to roll out expansive aid programs, which should in turn support further gains for the stock market in the near term, Mr. Butler said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 68.95 points, or 0.2%, to 30991.52. The S&P 500 dropped 14.30 points, or 0.4%, to 3795.54, while the Nasdaq Composite inched down 16.31 points, or 0.1%, to 13112.64.

All three indexes had risen earlier in the day, only to give up their gains in the final hour of the trading session.

Shares of smaller companies outperformed the broader market Thursday. Small-caps tend to be especially sensitive to changes in the U.S. economy, making them among the bigger potential beneficiaries of any spending package.

The Russell 2000 index of small-cap stocks jumped 2.1%.

Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines rose $1.02, or 2.5%, to $41.47 after chief executive Ed Bastian said the airline might return to profitability by summer as more of the population is vaccinated and demand for travel picks up again. Delta finished 2020 with a nearly $12.4 billion loss, marking its worst year ever.

Johnson & Johnson rose $2.76, or 1.7%, to $160.65 after it said its experimental Covid-19 shot generated immune responses from a single dose, rather than two.

Overseas, the pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.7%.

Italian stocks fell, with the country's benchmark FTSE MIB index falling 0.5%, after former Premier Matteo Renzi said his party was leaving the ruling coalition.

Italy is often seen as the weakest link among major economies in the eurozone, and political drama has previously sparked sharp selloffs in the country's government debt.

"This is political noise, but still something that creates uncertainties, " said Luc Filip, head of private banking investments at SYZ Private Banking.

In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index slipped 0.9% after data showed that China's export growth in December declined from November.

Most other major benchmarks rose, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index and Japan's Nikkei 225 both up 0.9%.

China's biggest tech companies climbed after The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. is expected to let Americans continue to invest in them, after weighing a ban. Alibaba Group gained 5% and Tencent Holdings climbed 5.6%.

Write to Anna Hirtenstein at anna.hirtenstein@wsj.com and Akane Otani at akane.otani@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-14-21 1659ET