Since the start of 2024, the S&P 500 has never once closed below its 200-day moving average, according to Bespoke Investment Group. Barring a sharp selloff between now and the end of the year, this would be only the 12th time since 1952 that this has happened.

According to the latest Labor Department data, weekly jobless claims fell to 219,000 compared with expectations of 223,000. However continuing claims pointed to a cooling labor market, jumping by 46,000 in the week ending Dec. 14 to 1.91 million, the highest level since November 2021.

Some of the biggest winners were mega-cap tech stocks, with Tesla up 6%, while Broadcom, Netflix, and Amazon each gained about 2%.

Indexes fell in their first trading day after Christmas as traders hope for a so-called Santa Clause rally to propel markets higher into the new year.

Wall Street's main indexes drifted lower in light trading volumes on Thursday, as rising yields pressured some shares, while investors looked for a year-end boost from the so-called Santa Claus rally.

U.S. markets are broadly lower before the opening bell in what's expected to be thin holiday trading. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.4% in the early hours Thursday.