The U.S. stocks ended mixed on Thursday after a choppy trading session as the broader market improved, with the Dow and the S&P 500 closing moderately higher and the Nasdaq slightly lower.
Before closing, the U.S. stocks pared the earlier losses caused by an unexpected increase of U.S. jobless claims and the potential inflation threat. The U.S. Labor Department said on Thursday that initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose by 27,000 to a seasonally adjusted 412,000, bouncing back to above 400,000, which surprised the markets as the figure has been under the key level for weeks.
Meanwhile, a separate government report said wholesale prices increased 0.7 percent in March, raising fear on the inflation pressure.
The financial sector was among the biggest losers in Thursday’s trading as a report said investigators were probing whether some of the world’s biggest banks colluded to manipulate a key interest rate before and during the financial crisis. Tech stocks also experienced big losses.
The Dow Jones industrial average added 14.16 points, or 0.12 percent, to 12,285.15. The Standard & Poor’s 500 was up 0.11 points, or 0.01 percent, to 1,314.52. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.30 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,760.22