by Noel Randewich and Ankika Biswas
(Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended higher on Thursday, thanks in part to the strong performance of Alphabet, as investors, who are worried about a slowing U.S. economy, await the publication of the monthly report on employment in the United States.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.01%, or 2.57 points, to 33,485.29 points.
The broader S&P-500 gained 14.64 points, or 0.36%, to 4,105.02 points.
The Nasdaq Composite advanced for its part by 91.1 points (0.76%) to 12,087.96 points.
Alphabet and Microsoft contributed more than the others to the gains made by the S&P500 during the session.
The Labor Department released Thursday the number of jobless claims in the United States, which stood at 228,000 during the week to April 1.
Wall Street has lost ground in recent days on signs of an economic slowdown, a change from recent months, when investors welcomed weak economic data, believing it could demonstrate that interest rate hikes interest rates decided by the US Federal Reserve (Fed) were effective.
“The market is tossing between whether a slowdown in the labor market is good news because it causes the Fed to pause (in its rate hike) in May, or bad news because it means the recession is coming,” said Baird analyst Ross Mayfield.
All eyes are now on the monthly US jobs report due Friday, which will be released while markets are closed due to Good Friday.
Investors are also awaiting earnings releases from major US banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup, which kick off the corporate earnings season next week.
In stocks, Caterpillar fell for the third day in a row as investors worried about a possible economic slowdown.
Levi Strauss & Co fell after the clothing maker posted a drop in quarterly profit.
AMC Entertainment, meanwhile, made progress after a U.S. court denied the movie theater operator’s request to lift a standstill order necessary for its plan to convert preferred stock into common stock.
(With the contribution of Amruta Khandeka; French version Camille Raynaud)
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