U.S. stocks were flat on Thursday, with gains in the tech sector offseting sluggish factory activity data and lower oil prices, as investors exercised caution ahead of a key payrolls report on Friday.
A report from the Institute of Supply Management showed U.S. factory activity contracted for the first time in six months in August as new orders and production tumbled, but data on the labor market pointed to a pickup in third-quarter economic growth.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 18.42 points, or 0.1 percent, to 18,419.3, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.09 points to2,170.86, and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 13.99 points, or 0.27 percent, to 5,227.21.
The potential for a strong U.S. non-farm payrolls number later in day - and with it an elevated chance of a Federal Reserve rate hike soon - kept Asian financial markets nervously marking time on Friday.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS dipped 0.1 percent.
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