U.S. stocks steadied Thursday after the release of data showing a cooling labor market, while investors awaited more clarity over the Trump administration’s trade policies.
At 09:35 ET (13:35 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 11 points, or 0.1%, while the S&P 500 rose 3 points, or 0.1%, and the NASDAQ Composite climbed 35 points, or 0.2%.
Jobless claims increased last week 
Investors have been digesting a series of labor market data releases this week, as they look for evidence that Trump’s tariff agenda was beginning to have an impact on the U.S. economy.
The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits increased last week, data released earlier Thursday showed, with seasonally-adjusted U.S. jobless claims climbing to 247,000 in the week ended on May 31.
This represented an increase from the revised 239,000 in the prior week, and above the expected 236,000.
The four-week moving average, which aims to account for volatility in the weekly data, came in at 235,000, rising above the previous reading of 230,500.
This release has added to a series of reports released this week that point to a cooling labor market as companies grapple with uncertainty around Trump’s tariff policies.
An account from management services company ADP found that U.S. private employers added fewer jobs than anticipated in May, while job openings grew in April, although layoffs increased, potentially indicating some softening in demand for workers.
These numbers largely serve as a precursor to Friday’s all-important monthly nonfarm payrolls report, which is projected to show that the U.S. added 130,000 jobs last month.
Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said on Wednesday evening that the labor market was showing some signs of slowing down, and that the Fed needed to remain in wait-and-see mode amid heightened economic uncertainty. 
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank slashed interest rates at its policy meeting earlier Thursday, lowering borrowing costs for the eighth time since last June as the euro area economy faces waning inflation but persistent uncertainty around the impact of global trade tensions.
Trump-Xi call, trade deals in focus 
Germany’s new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, holds face-to-face talks with U.S. President Donald Trump this session, looking to stave off looming U.S. tariffs and sustain U.S. backing for Ukraine.
But the focus this week is on an expected call between Trump and Xi, which markets hope will help revitalize U.S.-China trade talks after Washington admitted they had stalled in recent weeks.
Trump called Xi “very tough” and a good negotiator, although no dialogue between the two had taken place. 
Trump earlier this week made good on his threat to double steel and aluminum import tariffs to 50% from 25%, stoking concerns that he will also deliver on his threat of retaliatory tariffs on major U.S. trading partners. 
Broadcom to headline earnings slate 
The number of major companies still to report quarterly earnings is rapidly dwindling, but Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) will headline Thursday’s slate of corporate results.
These numbers will be followed closely, with the semiconductor group potentially set to provide a fresh glimpse into the state of demand for cutting-edge artificial intelligence chips.
Some investors have flagged worries that businesses could be reining in spending on AI as they face up to a murky economic outlook, while others have raised questions over the necessity of the expenditures following the emergence of a low-cost model from China’s DeepSeek earlier this year. However, major tech companies have recently backed their plans to pour heavy investments into the nascent technology.
Elsewhere, Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE) stock rose after the chain of specialty discount stores reported better-than-expected first-quarter results and issued a solid second-quarter guidance, helped by broad-based strength across most merchandising categories.
MongoDB (NASDAQ:MDB) stock surged after the database software company gave an upbeat annual forecast and reported quarterly results above estimates, while expanding its share repurchase plan.
Crude bounces after earlier losses 
Oil prices rose Thursday, bouncing after recent losses as an outsized build in U.S. gasoline and distillate inventories raised demand concerns in the world’s largest economy.
At 09:35 ET, Brent futures rose 1.5% to $65.81 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed by 1.8% to $63.95 per barrel.
Both benchmarks dropped over 1% on Wednesday after government data showed that U.S. oil inventories shrank by a bigger-than-expected 4.3 million barrels in the past week.
But gasoline inventories grew 5.2 million barrels, much more than expected, while distillate stocks also grew by a healthy 4.2 million barrels.
The readings raised some questions over demand in the world’s biggest fuel consumer, especially heading into the travel-heavy summer season.