Stocks rose higher on Thursday as the market wrapped up a shortened trading week in the green despite more signs of a weakening labor market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average settled flat, while the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite climbed roughly 0.4% and 0.8%, respectively.
Here's how the market settled to close out the shortened trading week:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): +0.36% or +14.64 points to 4,105.02
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): +0.01% or +2.57 points to 33,485.29
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): +0.76% or +91.10 points to 12,087.96
Despite the higher session, the S&P 500 lost 0.1% for the week, posting its first losing week in four. The Nasdaq also fell 1.1%, while the Dow outperformed, rising 0.6%.
Wall Street remained uneasy over the health of the U.S. economy on Thursday as the latest weekly jobless claims came in higher-than-expected, adding to recent signs that the labor market is cooling in response to the Federal Reserve's hawkish interest rate hikes.
Notably on Thursday, gold prices (NYSE: GLD) remained above $2,000 for a third straight day as investors weigh increasing risks of a recession amid multiple signs of slowing job growth.
First-time applications for unemployment benefits rose by 228,000 for the week ended April 1, according to the Labor Department's report Thursday. The previous week's total was also upwardly revised to 246,000. Moreover, continuing jobless claims were also revised higher for the week ended March 18 from 1.689 million to 1.823 million.
The latest jobs data follows a week of weaker-than-expected labor market data ahead of the key monthly jobs report for March slated for release Friday morning. On Wednesday, private payroll firm ADP reported U.S. employers added 145,000 jobs in March, which was well below expectations. Meanwhile, the number of available positions dropped below 10 million for the first time in two years in February, according to Tuesday's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) reading.
Elsewhere, Costco (NASDAQ: COST) shares declined on Thursday after the retailer reported that same-store sales fell 1.1% in March, as consumers pulled back on online shopping and gas prices declined.
Looking towards Friday, economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect the month's jobs report to show 240,000 jobs created in March, which would be lower than the average job gains of 343,000 over the last six months.
Stock and bonds markets will be closed on Friday in observance of Good Friday in the United States.