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Stocks were little changed on Thursday as investors digested strong employment data while monitoring U.S.-China trade negotiations.
The Dow Jones Industrials came closer to breakeven, but still 28.02 points short by noon to 27,621.76
The S&P 500 was still behind 1.29 points to 3,111.47
The NASDAQ had climbed to within 4.64 points of Wednesday’s close to 8,562.03
The Labor Department said U.S. weekly jobless claims dropped 203,000 last week, below an estimate of 215,000.
The report quelled fears stemming from a disappointing private payrolls number released Wednesday. It also comes a day before the government’s monthly non-farm payrolls report.
The U.S. trade deficit tumbled to 7.6% to $47.2 billion in October, a one-and-a-half-year low as imports dropped by $4.3 billion.
Bloomberg News reported Wednesday, citing sources, that both the U.S. and China were inching closer to securing an agreement on the amount of tariffs that would be rolled back in a limited trade deal. President Donald Trump also said Wednesday that he believed trade talks with Beijing were going "very well."
The report, along with Trump’s comment lifted sentiment around trade and helped the major averages snap a three-day losing streak. It also helped the market recover some of the steep losses from the month’s first two trading days
China and the U.S. have 10 days to reach a trade deal before additional U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods take effect. Those levies would target an additional $156 billion in Chinese goods.
Prices for the 10-Year U.S. Treasury sagged, raising yields to 1.80% from Wednesday’s 1.77%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices gained 17 cents at $58.60 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices picked up $4.30 to $1,484.50 U.S. an ounce.
