Stocks closed little changed on Thursday as lawmakers struggled to push through new fiscal stimulus before year-end. Sentiment was also dampened by the release of weaker-than-expected jobless claims data.
The Dow Jones Industrials came off its lows of the day and finished in the red 69.55 points to 29,952.23. Verizon and IBM each fell at least 1% to lead the Dow lower.
The S&P 500 dropped 4.72 points to 3,668.10. Industrials dragged down the S&P 500, pulling back by 0.9%.
The NASDAQ stayed positive, however, 66.86 points to 12,405.81, as Netflix and Apple each rose more than 1%.
Initial weekly jobless claims jumped to 853,000 last week, topping a Dow Jones estimate of 730,000. That marks the highest number of initial claims being filed since September and the first time since October that they topped 800,000.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters Thursday that bipartisan negotiations were leading to "great progress" for an additional government aid package. However, Pelosi added that both sides were still debating over a liability waiver for businesses.
Democrats again endorsed a $908-billion bipartisan stimulus proposal, but Politico reported that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's staff told other congressional leaders' offices that senate Republicans would not support the measure.
McConnell said he wants Congress to pass a coronavirus relief bill with neither legal immunity for businesses nor state and local government relief. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said McConnell's proposal to move stimulus talks forward without state and local government aid is not in good faith.
The House of Representatives passed a government funding extension Wednesday that would keep the federal government running through Dec. 18 and buy time for further negotiations for a bigger relief bill.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury gained a bit of ground, lowering yields to 0.91% from Wednesday's 0.94%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices surged $1.37 to $46.89 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices forged ahead 40 cents to $1,838.90.