NEW YORK, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended mixed on Thursday as investors continued to digest the latest developments concerning trade issues and a slew of economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 70.11 points, or 0.29 percent, to 24,597.38. The S&P 500 fell 0.53 points, or 0.02 percent, to 2,650.54. The Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 27.98 points, or 0.39 percent, to 7,070.33.

The market was upbeat in early session with the Dow jumping more than 200 points at its high.

Optimism about trade and rallying General Electric (GE) stock contributed to the early rise of the equities, however, uncertainties lingered, capping the market gains, experts noted.

Shares of Procter & Gamble and McDonald's rose 2.62 percent and 1.61 percent, leading the gainers in the Dow. Nike and DowDupont declined, among the worst performers in the 30-stock index.

GE shares jumped more than 7 percent on Thursday after J.P. Morgan analysts upgraded the stock.

Six of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors closed higher, as the gains in utilities and consumer staples offset the losses in materials and financials.

On the economic front, in the week ending Dec. 8, the advance figure for U.S. initial jobless claims, a rough way to measure layoffs, decreased 27,000 from the previous week's revised level to 206,000, lower than market forecasts, the Department of Labor reported Thursday.

Meanwhile, the more stable four-week moving average was 224,750, a decrease of 3,750 from the previous week's revised average.