The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 27.16 points, or 0.08 percent, to 33,336.67. The S&P 500 decreased 2.97 points, or 0.07 percent, to 4,207.27. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 74.89 points, or 0.58 percent, to 12,779.91.
Six of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with health care and consumer discretionary down 0.71 percent and 0.66 percent, respectively, leading the laggards. Energy jumped 3.19 percent, the best-performing group.
The U.S. Labor Department said Thursday that U.S. initial jobless claims, a rough way to measure layoffs, stood at 262,000 in the week ending Aug. 6, an increase of 14,000 from the prior week's revised level. The reading was near the highest level since November, indicating continued moderation in the labor market.
A separate report by the department on Thursday showed the U.S. producer price index fell 0.5 percent in July. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a 0.2 percent advance.
On Wednesday, Wall Street's three major averages posted solid gains with the Dow up more than 500 points, following a softening U.S. consumer price index report.
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