U.S. stocks trade mixed on jobs data

U.S. stocks traded in a narrow range on Thursday, as investors digested a batch of jobs data and awaited a key nonfarm report.

At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked down 11.23 points, or 0.06 percent, to 17,907.39. The S&P 500 edged up 0.13 points, or 0.01 percent, to 2,099.86. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 12.62 points, or 0.26 percent, to 4,871.78.

On the economic front, U.S. private sector employment increased by 172,000 jobs from May to June, more than market expectation of 159,000, said the June ADP National Employment Report Thursday.

In the week ending July 2, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 254,000, a decrease of 16,000 from the previous week's revised level, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday.

Meanwhile, traders will keep a close eye on Friday's nonfarm jobs report this week for more clues on the central bank's next rate hike.

Fed policymakers decided in June that it was prudent to wait for more data and the Brexit vote result before raising rates, according to the minutes of the Fed's June policy meeting released on Wednesday.

"The FOMC Minutes were released yesterday. No real surprises there. Some obvious division on interest rate direction," said Stephen Guilfoyle, managing director at Deep Value, on Thursday.

U.S. stocks pared early losses to close higher on Wednesday, as investors digested the Fed minutes and a slew of economic data. Endit