The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 145.99 points, or 0.46 percent, to 31,656.42. The S&P 500 increased 11.85 points, or 0.30 percent, to 3,966.85. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 31.07 points, or 0.26 percent, to 11,785.13.
Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with health care and utilities up 1.65 percent and 1.42 percent, respectively, outpacing the rest. Energy dipped 2.3 percent, the worst-performing group.
The U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday that U.S. initial jobless claims, a rough way to measure layoffs, decreased by 5,000 to 232,000 in the week ending Aug. 27.
The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index held steady at 52.8 percent in August. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast the index to slip to 51.8 percent.
U.S. equities have been under pressure recently, driven by hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials.
For August, the Dow finished down nearly 4.1 percent, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq lost 4.2 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively.
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