U.S. stocks waver amid data, earnings

U.S. stocks fluctuated narrowly around flatline in the morning session Thursday, as Wall Street digested jobs data and quarterly earnings.

By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 45.44 points, or 0.25 percent, to 18,050.83. The S&P 500 lost 5.17 points, or 0.25 percent, to 2,097.23. The Nasdaq Composite Index edged down 0.95 point, or 0.02 percent, to 4,947.18.

In the week ending April 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 247,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 253,000, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.

This is the lowest level for initial claims since Nov. 24, 1973, when it was 233,000.

The 4-week moving average was 260,500, a decrease of 4,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 265,000.

In corporate news, shares of General Motors jumped nearly 2 percent around midday Thursday after the company posted better-than-expected quarterly results.

The U.S. auto giant announced its first quarter 2016 net income to common stockholders of 2 billion U.S. dollars, or 1.24 dollars per diluted share, compared to 0.9 billion dollars, or 0.56 dollars per diluted share, a year ago.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks ended higher as Wall Street digested a slew of quarterly earnings reports from big companies amid rising oil prices. Endit