Bareksa.com - U.S. stocks closed little changed on Thursday and the dollar dipped slightly against the euro, as data showing more Americans tapping unemployment benefits muddied views on when U.S. policymakers might first raise interest rates.

But while the number of people filing new claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week, those claims remained near pre-recession levels.

The timing of an expected rate hike in the United States has become a central question for global markets. Policymakers meet next week, although a rate hike is not expected until next year at the earliest.

"This week is the beginning of markets being concerned more broadly that however much the Fed would like its normalization to be smooth and serene, that it may end up being more harsh on asset markets than had previously been anticipated," said Steven Englander, global head of G10 foreign exchange strategy at CitiFX in New York.

The data moved the euro further off 14-month lows against the greenback reached earlier this week.

However, the dollar advanced against the yen. Though the gain was slight, it was enough to push the greenback to end the day above 107 yen and hit a new six-year high against the Japanese currency.

The dollar was last up 0.28 percent against the yen, at 107.1200 yen.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback versus a basket of six currencies, rose 0.023 points or 0.03 percent, to 84.306.

The euro was last up 0.01 percent, at $1.2917, while Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index dropped 0.13 percent at 1,383.94.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 19.71 points, or 0.12 percent, to 17,049, the S&P 500 gained 1.76 points, or 0.09 percent, to 1,997.45 and the Nasdaq Composite added 5.28 points, or 0.12 percent, to 4,591.81.

The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 45 nations, remained unchanged at 428.16.

Spot gold prices fell $7.91 or 0.63 percent, to $1,240.49 an ounce. Gold futures were last down 0.32 percent, at $1,241.3 an ounce.

Brent crude was last up $0.13, or up 0.13 percent, at $98.17 a barrel. U.S. crude was last up $1.51, or up 1.65 percent, at $93.18 per barrel. (source: Reuters)