US stocks trade mixed as investors weigh jobless-claims data

• US stocks were mixed Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average coming off a record-high close.
• Fewer Americans than expected filed for jobless benefits last week.
• Shares of Moderna and other vaccine makers were under pressure.

US stocks edged higher Thursday as weekly jobless claims suggested there's been a further recovery in the labor market from the COVID-19 pandemic, with the snapshot arriving ahead the highly anticipated monthly US jobs report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained slightly after closing at a record high on Wednesday, and the Nasdaq was steady after losing ground in the previous session.

Here's where US indexes stood at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday:

• S&P 500: 4,165.48, down 0.05%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 34,292.84, up0.18% (62.50 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 13,559.27, down 0.16%

Thursday's session got underway with the Labor Department saying new jobless claims totaled an unadjusted 498,000 last week, below the median estimate of 538,000 claims from economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The reading marked a new low for the pandemic era and marked the fourth straight weekly decline.

Investors are preparing for the April jobs report that could show US payrolls jumped to 938,000, according to an Econoday estimate.

Around the markets, Moderna shares dropped sharply after the vaccine maker's first-quarter revenue fell shortof expectations. The stock, along with Pfizer and BioNTech, remained under pressure after the Biden administration on Wednesday announced support for waiving intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines.

Gold was steady at $1,770.85 per ounce. Long-dated US treasury yields slipped, with the 10-year yield at 1.582%.

Oil prices declined. West Texas Intermediate crude shed 0.4% to $65.37 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, slipped 0.3% to $68.73 per barrel.

Bitcoin rose 3% to $57, 461.