U.S. stocks ended mixed Thursday, after ending at record closing highs the previous day. In world markets, European stocks rose by about 1.5 percent while Asian markets ended mixed. In U.S. economic news, the government reported jobless claims increased 10,000 to 379,000 last week. Meanwhile, an industry group said existing-home sales fell 4.3 percent last month to 4.90 units. The dollar gained versus the Yen and the Euro, but fell versus the Pound. Light sweet crude oil for January delivery rose slightly to $98.63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures fell to $1,189.70 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 11.11, or 0.1 percent, to 16,179.08. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1.05, or 0.1 percent, to 1,809.60. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 11.92, or 0.3 percent, to 4,058.14.
