U.S. stocks close mixed amid jobs data

U.S. stocks closed mixed on Thursday, as investors digested a batch of jobs data and awaited a key nonfarm report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 22.74 points, or 0.13 percent, to 17,895.88. The S&P 500 shed 1.83 points, or 0.09 percent, to 2,097.90. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 17.65 points, or 0.36 percent, to 4,876.81.

On the economic front, U.S. private sector employment increased by 172,000 jobs from May to June, more than market expectations 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, announced the U.S. Labor Department 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.

"The market has known the Fed's mind better than the Fed has known itself since December, after all," said Chris Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, in a note.

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.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, decreased 1.34 percent to end at 14.76 on Thursday.

U.S. stocks pared early losses to close higher on Wednesday, as investors digested U.S. Federal Reserve minutes and a slew of economic data. Enditem