The Dow Jones Industrials handed back 234.96 points in gains to commence business Thursday at 30,038.91.
The S&P 500 docked 30.12 points to 3,753.16.
The NASDAQ Composite dropped 76.93 points to 11,071.70.
Still, all major averages are on pace to end the week about 5% higher.
Energy was the best-performing sector, gaining 1.2%. Utilities lagged, falling more than 1%.
Weekly jobless claims rose more than expected last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Initial filings for unemployment benefits totaled 219,000 for the week ended Oct. 1, up 29,000 from the week before and higher than the 203,000 estimate. The downwardly revised 190,000 from the previous week was the lowest level since April 23.
Treasury prices stumbled, lifting yields to 3.84% from Wednesday’s 3.75%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite direction.
Oil prices recovered 47 cents to $88.23 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices faltered $1.60 to $1,719.20 U.S. an ounce.