New York: US stocks closed mildly lower after wavering between small gains and losses as investors digested mixed economic data ahead of Friday's key jobs report.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 4.15 points, or 0.02 percent, to 17,863.43 on Thursday, Xinhua reported. 

The S&P 500 fell 2.38 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,099.93. The Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 14.74 points, or 0.29 percent, to 5,127.74.

In the week ending Oct. 31, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims increased 16,000 from the previous week's unrevised level to 276,000, well above market expectations, the US Labor Department said on Thursday.

In a separate report, the department announced that US nonfarm business sector labour productivity increased at a 1.6-percent annual rate during the third quarter of 2015, beating market consensus of 0.1 percent.

Wall Street will also keep a close eye on Friday's non-farm payrolls report for further indications on the timing of an interest rate hike.

On Wednesday, US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen reiterated that the central bank may start raising short-term interest rates at its December policy meeting if the US economy is "performing well".

"If the incoming information supports that expectation, then our statement indicates that December would be a live possibility," Yellen said.

New York Fed president William Dudley, said on Wednesday in a separate occasion that he would "completely agree" with Yellen on a December hike.

In corporate news, shares of Facebook surged 4.64 percent to $108.76 apiece on Thursday, after the company reported better-than-expected quarterly results.

The social media giant announced the third-quarter revenue of $4.5 billion, an increase of 45 percent year on year. Daily active users were 1.01 billion on average for September 2015, topping the milestone of 1 billion for the first time.

The CBOE Volatility Index, often referred to as Wall Street's fear gauge, decreased 2.97 percent to end at 15.05 Thursday.

In other markets, oil prices continued to fall as the market expected global supplies exceeded demand.

The West Texas Intermediate for December delivery moved down $1.12 to settle at $45.2 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for December delivery decreased 60 cents to close at $47.98 a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

The US dollar rose against most major currencies as recent remarks by Fed officials bolstered market speculation for an interest-rate hike by year-end.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to $1.0883 from $1.0856 in the previous session, while the US dollar bought 121.69 Japanese yen, higher than 121.57 yen of the previous session.

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange fell as a stronger US dollar put pressure on the precious metal.

The most active gold contract for December delivery fell $2, or 0.18 percent, to settle at $1,104.20 per ounce.