Stocks ended mostly higher Thursday, finding support after another drop in first-time jobless claims. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA,
+0.41%
rose around 139 points, or 0.4%, to finish near 34,462, while the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.12%
gained around 5 points, or 0.1%, to close near 4,201. The Nasdaq Composite
COMP,
-0.01%
edged around 2 points lower to end around 13,736. Initial jobless claims sank 38,000 to 406,000 in the week ended May 22, the government said Thursday -- the fewest number of first-time requests for benefits since the onset of the pandemic nearly 15 months ago.