NEW YORK, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended mixed on Thursday, as stronger-than-expected corporate performance in U.S. airlines and electronics makers propped up the market amid deepening anxiety about global trade tensions and U.S. economic growth.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 21.21 points, or 0.09 percent to 24,554.41. The S&P 500 rose 3.66 points, or 0.14 percent to 2,642.36. The Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 47.69 points, or 0.68 percent to 7,073.46.
The United States has embraced a generally vigorous corporate earnings report season in January.
Leading U.S. airlines on Thursday extended solid gains in stock prices, after they reported better-than-expected quarterly profits.
Shares of American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and JetBlue Airlines all rose at the end of the trading day, up 6.4 percent, 6.3 percent and 5.1 percent respectively.
Likewise, U.S. electronics makers also invigorated the market with quarterly earnings that beat analysts' estimates.
Shares of semiconductor firm Xilinx, electronics maker Texas Instruments and semiconductor maker Lam Research Corp all rallied around the closing bell, up 18.44 percent, 6.9 percent and 15.7 percent respectively.
Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors extended gains on Thursday, with the information technology sector up nearly one percent, leading the winners.
Market unease over global trade tensions has been exacerbated, after U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told CNBC on Thursday the United States is still "miles and miles" from a trade deal with China.
On the economic front, the Conference Board, a New York City-based non-profit business organization, said Thursday that the U.S. economic growth rate may slow down this year with its leading index declining last month.
The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) for the United States declined 0.1 percent in December, 2018 to 111.7, following a 0.2 percent increase in November.
"While the effects of the government shutdown are not yet reflected here, the LEI suggests that the economy could decelerate towards two percent growth by the end of 2019," said Ataman Ozyildirim, director of economic research at the Conference Board, in a public statement.
U.S. weekly jobless claims fell to the lowest level in more than 49 years, an important measure to gauge the country's unemployment rate.
The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits dropped 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 199,000 for the week ended Jan. 19, a record low since November 1969.
