U.S. stocks closed mildly lower after wavering between small gains and losses Thursday, as investors digested mixed economic data ahead of Friday's key jobs report.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 4.15 points, or 0. 02 percent, to 17,863.43. The S&P 500 fell 2.38 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,099.93.
The Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 14.74 points, or 0.29 percent, to 5,127.74.
In the week ending Oct. 31, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims increased 16,000 from the previous week's unrevised level to 276,000, well above market expectations, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday.
In a separate report, the department announced that U.S. nonfarm business sector labor productivity increased at a 1. 6-percent annual rate during the third quarter of 2015, beating market consensus of 0.1 percent.
Wall Street will also keep a close eye on Friday's non-farm payrolls report for further indications on the timing of an interest rate hike.
On Wednesday, U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reiterated that the central bank may start raising short-term interest rates at its December policy meeting if the U.S. economy is "performing well."
"If the incoming information supports that expectation, then our statement indicates that December would be a live possibility, " Yellen said.
New York Fed President William Dudley, said Wednesday in a separate occasion that he would "completely agree" with Yellen on a December hike.
In corporate news, shares of Facebook surged 4.64 percent to 108.76 U.S. dollars apiece Thursday, after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly results.
The social media giant announced the third-quarter revenue of 4. 5 billion dollars, an increase of 45 percent year on year. Daily active users were 1.01 billion on average for September 2015, topping the milestone of 1 billion for the first time.
Overseas, Chinese shares extended rallies Thursday thanks to strong performance of heavyweights including brokerages and banks, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rising 1.83 percent to close at 3,522.82 points.
The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, decreased 2.97 percent to end at 15.05 Thursday.
In other markets, oil prices continued to fall as the market expected global supplies exceeded demand. The West Texas Intermediate for December delivery moved down 1. 12 dollars to settle at 45.2 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for December delivery decreased 60 cents to close at 47.98 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
The U.S. dollar rose against most major currencies as recent remarks by Fed officials bolstered market speculation for an interest-rate hike by year-end. In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.0883 dollars from 1.0856 dollars in the previous session, while the U.S. dollar bought 121.69 Japanese yen, higher than 121.57 yen of the previous session.
Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell as a stronger U.S. dollar put pressure on the precious metal. The most active gold contract for December delivery fell 2 U.S. dollars, or 0.18 percent, to settle at 1,104.20 dollars per ounce.
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