U.S. stocks traded near the flatline on Thursday, following a two-day losing streak on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrials dipped 21.65 points to kick off Thursday at 31,248.44,
The S&P 500 fell 20.91 points to 3,798.81.
The NASDAQ Composite faltered 169.11 points, or 1.3%, to 12,828.64. Technology names were hit hard in the previous session amid rising bond yields.
Investors digested a better-than-expected reading on weekly jobless claims. First-time filings for unemployment insurance in the week ended Feb. 27 totaled 745,000, a touch below the Dow Jones estimate of 750,000, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is set to join The Wall Street Journal Jobs Summit to talk about the economy later Thursday.
Additional stimulus measures could also inject optimism into the market. The Senate is currently debating the $1.9-trillion relief package passed by the House on Saturday. President Joe Biden has backed a plan to cut the income caps for Americans to receive stimulus checks.
Prices for 10-Year Treasurys inched up, reducing yields to 1.46% from Wednesday’s 1.47%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices acquired 60 cents to $61.88 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices slid $3.70 to $1,712.10.