US stocks finished mixed on Thursday as investors hesitated from making major bets ahead of Friday's crucial Jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 30.88 points, or 0.25%, to finish at 12,319.73. The S&P 500 fell 2.43 points, or 0.18%, to close at 1,325.83. The Nasdaq Composite added 4.28 points, or 0.15%, to 2,781.06.
A release by Department of Labor on Thursday showed number of Americans filing first- time claims for unemployment benefits fell 6,000 to 388,000 in the week ending March 26. Economists expected jobless claims to rise to 383,000. The four-week average of seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims, a less volatile gauge, increased 3,250 to 394,500. Continuing claims for the week ending March 19 fell 51,000 to 3.71 million.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department reported Thursday that new orders for U.S. factory-manufactured goods fell by 0.1% in February. Economists expected overall U.S. factory orders to rise by 0.5% in February.
Shares of Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) slumped 7 cents, or 3.79%, to close at $1.65, on Thursday after a federal judge ruled that the biggest U.S. satellite-radio broadcaster must face class-action claims in a lawsuit alleging antitrust violations.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) slid $1.25, or 2.88%, to close at $42.22 on Thursday after Sands China Ltd., controlled by billionaire Sheldon Adelson’s casino company, said that it’s being investigated by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission for alleged breaches of regulations.
European stocks closed down. The UK FTSE fell 39.54 points, or 0.66% to 5,908.76. The German DAX and French CAC increased 0.22% and 0.88% respectively.
Asian stocks finished higher. The Nikkei 225 gained 46.31 points or 0.48% to 9,755.10. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong climbed 76.09 points or 0.32% to 23,527.52.
Full Disclosure: None.
