U.S. market indexes were mixed on Thursday as manufacturing was down in August but investors kept a positive outlook on the labor market.

For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 18419.30 for a gain of 18.42 points or 0.10 percent. The S&P 500 was down, closing at 2170.86 for a loss of -0.09 points or -0.01 percent. The Nasdaq Composite closed lower at 5227.21 for a gain of 13.99 points or 0.27 percent. The VIX Volatility Index was higher at 13.48 for a gain of 0.06 points or 0.45 percent.

Thursday’s Market Movers

Manufacturing data was in the spotlight on Thursday with reports on motor vehicle sales, productivity, the PMI Manufacturing Index, the ISM Manufacturing Index and Construction Spending. Preliminary motor vehicle sales data showed motor vehicle sales in North America at 13 million SAAR which is below sales of 14.3 million in July. The consensus is for total motor vehicle sales of 17.1 million SAAR which would be below the prior report of 17.9 million. The Productivity and Costs report showed productivity from workers down on a quarterly basis with a change from the previous quarter of -0.6 percent following a -0.05 percent change from the previous report. The PMI Manufacturing Index was lower for August at 52.0 versus 52.9. The ISM Manufacturing Index was also lower with the Index falling to 49.4 in August from 52.6 last month. Construction spending was flat with total activity accounting for $1,153.2 billion in July, with no change in spending from June.

On Thursday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics also reported its jobless claims. Jobless claims increased by 2,000 to 263,000.

Stocks trading actively on Thursday included the following:

Bank of America
General Electric
Ford
EMC
Procter & Gamble
Chesapeake Energy
Salesforce.com
Apple
Microsoft

In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the following stocks led gains and losses:

Gains (percent)
Wal-Mart 1.96
Nike 1.84
Procter & Gamble 1.15
Apple 0.56
Losses (percent)
American Express -1.10
Caterpillar -0.61
Goldman Sachs -0.56
JPMorgan -0.43

In the broad market, sectors were mostly lower with financial and utilities leading losses. Technology was higher for the day with the S&P 500 technology sector gaining 0.32 percent. Stocks leading in technology included the following:

Gains (percent)
Liberty Media Group 9.53
Charter Communications 4.51
Expedia 3.67

In commodities, gold traded higher as evidenced by the SPDR Gold Trust which reported a gain of 0.51 points or 0.41 percent. The dollar was lower for the day as the U.S. Dollar Index was down -0.34 points or -0.35 percent at 95.65.

Small-Cap Stocks

In small-caps, the Russell 2000 Index was higher at 1240.17 for a gain of 0.26 points or 0.02 percent. The S&P 600 Small-Cap Index was higher at 753.11 for a gain of 0.04 points or 0.01 percent. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Growth TSM Index was higher at 7549.85 for a gain of 13.38 points or 0.18 percent. The Dow Jones Small-Cap Value TSM Index was lower at 8765.73 for a loss of -18.66 points or -0.21 percent.

Other Notable Indexes

Other notable index closes included the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1563.58 for a loss of -1.18 points or -0.08 percent; the S&P 100 Index at 960.24 for a gain of 0.16 points or 0.02 percent; the Russell 3000 Index at 1284.75 for a gain of 0.27 points or 0.02 percent; the Russell 1000 Index at 1203.30 for a gain of 0.25 points or 0.02 percent; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 613.56 for a loss of -1.25 points or -0.20 percent.