WASHINGTON (AP) – Signs of a healthy labor market and rising consumer optimism in June were tempered by weakness in stock prices and real estate, a research group said Thursday, suggesting slow to moderate near-term economic growth.

The Conference Board, an industry-backed research group based in New York, said its Index of Leading Economic Indicators inched higher in June, the first increase since March.

The index, which is designed to predict economic activity three to six months in the future, stands at 138.1, or one percent below January’s level.

“It doesn’t tell us that the economy is in trouble or roaring ahead,” said David Resler, chief economist at Nomura Securities in New York.

“It is exactly the kind of picture you’d expect from an economy moving into a period of moderate economic growth. We will see conflicting signs,” he added.

In testimony before Congress on Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the slowdown in the U.S. housing market “appears to be orderly.” That followed comments a day earlier in which he said the cooling off of the economy should help tame inflation, which runs the risk of accelerating due to soaring energy prices.

Also on Thursday, the Labor Department reported a sharp decline in the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits.

The agency said 304,000 newly laid off workers filed applications for benefits, a drop of 30,000 from the previous week, when claims had surged by 20,000.

On Wall Street, stocks prices fell. The Dow industrials declined 83.32, or 0.76 percent, to 10,928.10. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped 10.68, or 0.85 percent, to 1,249.13, and the technology-laden Nasdaq Stock Market lost 41.29, or 1.98 percent, to 2,039.42.

Six out of the 10 indicators that comprise the Conference Board’s leading index rose in June – the biggest positive contributor was a decline in average weekly initial claims for unemployment insurance, followed by the index of consumer expectations, real money supply, average weekly manufacturing hours, interest rate spread and manufacturers’ new orders for new nondefense capital goods.

Four indicators declined in June – vendor performance, building permits and stock prices. Holding steady were manufacturers’ new orders for consumer goods and materials.

The improvement in the average workweek indicates the labor market remains healthy, and that may help consumer confidence going forward, economists said.

Michelle Girard, senior economist at RBC Greenwich Capital, said she has a slightly more optimistic view of the economy than was offered on Thursday by Bernanke and the Conference Board.

“We don’t see growth slowing until next year,” said Girard, who expects U.S. gross domestic product to rise by 3.5 percent in the second half of the year – or a half-percent more than most of her peers. As a result, she expects the Fed to step in with two more quarter-point interest rate hikes in August and September.

The Conference Board’s index of coincident indicators, which measure current economic activity, rose 0.2 percent in June to 122.9, while its index of lagging indicators, which measure past performance, increased by 0.6 percent to 123.7.

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