U.S. stocks extend losses ahead of New Year's Day

U.S. stocks traded lower in the morning session Thursday, the last trading day of 2015, as investors digested the worse-than-expected initial jobless claims.

By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 56.63 points, or 0.32 percent, to 17,547.24. The S&P 500 fell 5.71 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,057.65. The Nasdaq Composite Index moved down 18.38 points, or 0.36 percent, to 5,047.46.

In the week ending Dec. 26, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims increased from the previous week's unrevised level of 267,000 to 287,000, well above market consensus of 270,000, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.

The four-week moving average was 277,000, an increase of 4,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 272,500.

The Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) also came out negative, falling 5.8 points to 42.9 in December from 48.7 in November.

Meanwhile, in a light week of economic reports, the volatility in oil prices was also in focus. Oil prices had witnessed some big swings recently as they were traded near multi-year lows.

The U.S. stock markets will be closed on Friday for New Year's Day.

Overseas, China's stocks closed lower on Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index going down 0.94 percent to close at 3,529.18 points, as investors were cautious over the impending end of a six-month ban on share sales.

For the year, the Shanghai Composite Index gained 9.4 percent despite wild fluctuations in the summer and a drop on the final day of the year. Endit