Investing.com - U.S. stocks traded mixed Thursday, as bullish U.S. jobless claims were counteracted by global growth concerns.
At the close of U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gave back 0.11%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.06%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.40%.
Starting equity weakness, Spain’s borrowing costs continued to rise in the wake of Wednesday’s weak government bond auction. The yield on the country’s 10-year bond climbed to 5.71% earlier, the highest level since mid-December.
Meanwhile, concerns over the outlook for growth in the euro zone increased following a recent string of weak economic data.
Earlier Thursday, official data showed that German industrial production dropped 1.3% in February, more than expectations for a 0.5% drop, renewing concerns over the outlook for the bloc’s largest economy.
The data came one day after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi warned that "downside risks to the economic outlook prevail" after the central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low 1%.
In the U.S., official data indicating that initial jobless claims fell to the lowest level in nearly four years last week supported expectations that the Federal Reserve will hold off on implementing fresh monetary easing measures.
Supporting the bulls, the Department of Labor stated the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending March 31 fell to a seasonally adjusted 357,000, the lowest since April 2008 and slightly short of expectations for a decline to 355,000.
At the close European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.25%, France's CAC 40 gained 0.19%, while Germany’s DAX traded lower by 0.13%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 added 0.35%
Traders are anticipating the long Easter weekend with equity markets closed, and the non farm payroll numbers released on Friday.