US stocks close mixed

​​​​​​​By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - US stocks were mixed Thursday ahead of key American payroll data due Friday.

The Dow added 0.55%, or 270.03 points, to close at 49,266.11.

The Nasdaq fell 0.44%, or 104.26 points, to 23,480.02, while the S&P 500 was basically flat, adding 0.01%, or 0.53 points, to 6,921.46.

The Volatility Index (VIX), also known as the "fear index,” rose 0.46% to 15.45

On the macroeconomic data side, the number of people filing unemployment benefits in the US for the first time rose 8,000 from the previous week to 208,000 in the week ending Jan. 3.

Nonfarm labor productivity rose 4.9% in the third quarter of last year, while unit labor costs, one of the inflation indicators tracked by the Fed, fell 1.9%.

The US trade deficit fell to $29.4 billion in October, its lowest since June 2009.

Also, ahead of inflation data to be released next week, the New York Fed published a survey for December showing short-term inflation expectations rose 3.4%, while medium- and long-term inflation expectations remained unchanged at 3%.

On the corporate side, defense stocks rose after Trump stated that the 2027 defense budget should be $1.5 trillion.

Shares of defense industry companies Lockheed Martin added 4.3%, Northrop Grumman gained 2.4% and Kratos Defense was up 13.8%.

Technology stocks declined. Among the leading stocks related to AI, Nvidia's shares fell 2.2%, Broadcom's shares fell 3.2%, and Oracle fell 1.7%.