Stocks rose slightly at the end of another choppy session as tech shares recovered some of their recent losses and investors weighed fresh economic data against cloudy market outlook. Market sentiment, however, is still murky, with more volatile trading session expected as further fiscal stimulus hopes dim and the U.S. presidential election round the corner.

The Labor Department's latest update to the employment situation showed an expected rise in new jobless claims, with 870,000 new applicants filing for unemployment benefits for the week ended Sept. 19. However, new claims remained below the 1 million level that was seen throughout much of the pandemic. Moreover, continuing jobless claims, which lag behind initial claims, rose slightly to 12.580 million from the prior week's 12.747 million.

Meanwhile, new homes sales in the U.S. rose unexpectedly for the fourth consecutive month in August, according to new data from the Commerce Department. New single-family home purchases rose 4.8% to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 1.011 million in August, far exceeding the 890,000 predicted.

Here's how the market settled on Thursday:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): +0.30% or +9.67 points to 3,246.59

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): +0.20% or +52.31 points to 26,815.44

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): +0.37% or +39.28 points to 10,672.27

For Major Stock News, market driving mega-cap tech shares gained on Thursday: Amazon (AMZN  ), Apple (AAPL  ), Facebook (FB  ), Google (GOOGL  ), Microsoft (MSFT  ) and Netflix (NFLX  ). Airlines took another hit on Thursday as some European nations reinstated travel bans amid rising coronavirus cases: American (AAL  ), Delta (DAL  ), Southwest (LUV  ), and United (UAL  ). Nikola (NKLA  ) shares were pressure further as analysts became concerned about the stock's future growth amid its chaotic few weeks, with some calling the electric-truck stock too risky at this time. Penn National Gaming (PENN  ) fell after the online gaming company announced it will over 14 million new shares of its common stock, with analysts turning bearish against the stock and favoring its rival DraftKings (DKNG  ).

For Sector Performance, every industry expect Health Care -0.52% gained amid the wild trading session. The performance gains were as follows: Utilities +1.17%, Consumer Staples +0.76%, Materials +0.70%, Information Technology +0.62%, Communication Services +0.40%, Real Estate +0.37%, Financials +0.19%, Consumer Discretionary +0.13%, Industrials +0.08% and Energy +0.08%.

For Commodities and Currency, the U.S. Dollar (UUP  ) traded at a two-month high on Thursday as concerns over global economic recovery led investors towards the greenback. The dollar index was up 0.08% against other rival currencies, gaining to its highest level since late July. Gold (GLD  ) conversely fell to its lowest level in over two month as the dollar continued to advance as uncertainty towards additional fiscal stimulus washed over the market. Spot gold was down 0.1% at $1,862.41 per ounce, while gold futures settled 0.3% lower at $1,862 per ounce. Crude oil futures steadied on Thursday, as the fall in U.S. inventories was offset by a strengthening dollar and reignited coronavirus-fueled demand concerns. International benchmark Brent Crude (BNO  ) climbed 0.2% to $41.85 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (USO  ) gained 0.95% at $40.31 per barrel.

For Friday, market participants will focus on fresh economic data for durable good and core capital goods.