U.S. stocks closed mixed Thursday as investors awaited the key employment report due Friday. In U.S. economic news, weekly jobless claims rose to 274,000. In international economic news, China's Caixin services PMI fell in April to 51.8 from 52.2 the prior month. The dollar traded more than half a percent higher against other major currencies. Light sweet crude oil for June delivery gained 63 cents to $44.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while gold futures added $2 to $1,276.40 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 9.39, or 0.05 percent, to 17,660.65. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 0.49, or 0.02 percent, to 2,050.63. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index lost 8.55, or 0.18 percent, to 4,717.09.