1st LD Writethru: U.S. stocks end lower to wrap up 2015

U.S. stocks continued to fall after volatile session on Thursday, the last trading day of 2015, as investors digested the worse-than-expected initial jobless claims.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 178.84 points, or 1.02 percent, to 17,425.03. The S&P 500 lost 19.42 points, or 0.94 percent, to 2,043.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 58.44 points, or 1.15 percent, to 5,007.41.

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.

For 2015, the Dow snapped a six-year winning streak to end 2.2 percent lower, and the S&P 500 fell 0.7 percent, while the Nasdaq advanced 5.7 percent, logging its fourth straight annual gains.

Among the S&P 500's ten sectors, consumer discretionary was the strongest sector of the year, up 8.42 percent, while the energy sector had the worst performance with a loss of 23.49 percent.

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.

In Europe, German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange was closed Thursday for New Year's Day, while British benchmark FTSE 100 Index decreased 0.51 percent in a holiday-shortened session. Endit