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The S&P 500 on Thursday closed flat after swinging between gains and losses amid soft trading volumes in a holiday-shortened week.

At 4:00 p.m. ET (21:00 GMT), the S&P 500 fell 0.1%, the NASDAQ Composite was down 0.1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.07% or 28 points.

Jobless Claims in U.S. Dip to One-Month Low

The weekly U.S. jobless claims data released before the market opened on Thursday reported a one-month low dip.

The Labor Department reported a decrease of 1,000 in initial applications for state unemployment benefits, bringing the seasonally adjusted figure to 219,000 for the week that ended on December 21. This figure is lower than the 224,000 claims that economists predicted for the same week.

Meanwhile, the number of individuals receiving benefits after their first week of aid, which indicates hiring, increased by 46,000, bringing the total to 1.910 million for the week ending December 14—the highest since November 2021. Economists had previously anticipated the number of continued claims to be 1.880 million.

> "We do not think that this week's data will move the needle for any of them, but more prints in line with the tone of this week's data may motivate the doves on the Committee to speak up," Jefferies said in a recent note.

Tech Stocks Climb as Apple Hits Record High on Wedbush Boost

The major tech giants were mostly down after the markets opened, with Apple marginally higher despite an upgrade from tech-bull Wedbush.

Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) closed 0.3% higher at a record close of $259.02. Wedbush raised its price target on Apple to $325 from $300, betting on a transformative AI-driven iPhone upgrade cycle poised to fuel growth into 2025.

> "We believe Apple is heading into a multi-year AI-driven iPhone upgrade cycle that is still being underestimated by the Street," Wedbush said in a recent note.

Crypto-Related Stocks Slip as Bitcoin Skids, But KULR Technology Surges on BTC Purchase

Crypto-related stocks, including MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:MSTR) and Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN), followed bitcoin lower as the cryptocurrency fell more than 3%.

KULR Technology Group Inc (NYSE:KULR) jumped 40% after the space technology company bought about 217 bitcoin and detailed plans to allocate up to 90% of its excess cash to bitcoin.

In meme-stock news, GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) added 6% as the video game retailer looks to close out the strong year, with gains of nearly 98% year to date.