Major U.S. stock indexes closed little changed on Thursday, even as declining names outnumbered advancers, ahead of job market data seen as key to determine whether the Federal Reserve will raise rates before the end of the year.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 12.53 points, or 0.07 percent, to 18,268.5, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 1.04 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,160.77 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 9.17 points, or 0.17 percent, to 5,306.85.
Most Asian stocks fell ahead of a closely watched U.S. payrolls report as stronger economic data fueled bets the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this year.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost less than 0.1 percent to 140.57 as of 9:20 a.m. in Tokyo, with about three stocks declining for every two advancing. U.S. jobless claims fell to the second-lowest level since 1973, strengthening the case for the Fed to raise interest rates. Odds that it will do so by December climbed to 64 percent from 53 percent a week ago, ahead of the official labor report Friday. Japanese shares retreated even after the yen capped its longest losing streak against the greenback since July 2014, while oil above $50 per barrel sent energy shares higher.
Reference: Reuters, Bloomberg
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