US close: Stocks close mostly lower as Trump takes aim at Federal Reserve again

Wall Street stocks turned in a mixed performance on Thursday, with persistent tensions between the US and China and Donald Trump's criticism of Federal Reserve policy remaining in focus.

At the close, the Dow Jones was 0.29% higher at 24,597.38, while the S&P 500 traded 0.02% lower at 2,650.54 and the Nasdaq lost 0.39% at 7,070.33.

Investors mulled over news that Chinese state-owned companies had bought more than 1.5m tons of US soybeans for the first time in six months and a Wall Street Journal report that China was planning to drop its "Made in China 2025" plans.

Rabobank said: "That’s obviously positive, but let’s keep things real. China needs that soy. It always did. So buying it helps it out, and is a far bigger win for Trump politically than it is Xi."

"Meanwhile, on MIC, yes, it is now not on a list of 2019 priorities for local governments issued by the State Council, and we will certainly hear less of it going forwards, in the same way that the Belt and Road Initiative is also being downplayed since a global backlash began."

Elsewhere, Donald Trump continued to criticise the Fed and its efforts to normalise monetary policy.

Ahead of its meeting next week, the President said he hopes the central bank "won't be raising rates anymore."

Back in the UK, Prime Minister Theresa May survived a no-confidence vote triggered by members of her own party as Brexit woes continued to dominate headlines.

West Texas Intermediate gained 3.32% to $52.85 a barrel, while Brent Crude gained 2.54% to $61.68.

The USD was down just 0.04% to 0.7900, while Bitcoin fell 6.1% to a 15-month low of $3,230.

In corporate news, insurer Aflac closed 6.67% higher as it confirmed talks with Japan Post about a minority investment.

Elsewhere, Avon lost 2.39% during the session after it appointed Gustavo Arnal as its new executive president and chief financial officer.

General Electric surged 7.30% after it announced the launch of a $2.1bn industrial Internet of Things company. GE said the company would be wholly owned and independently run with its own board. The stock also benefited from a JPMorgan upgrade to 'neutral' from 'underweight'.

On the data front, initial jobless claims in the US recorded their largest drop since April 2015 last week.

According to the Department of Labor, initial jobless claims for the week ending on 8 December dropped by 27,000 to reach 206,000.

Economists had anticipated a much smaller decline of 6,000 from the original estimate of 231,000 for the prior week to 225,000.

The four-week moving average meanwhile shrank by 3,750 to 224,750.

In parallel, secondary unemployment claims, or those which are not being filed for the first time, and referencing week ending on 1 December, edged up by 25,000 to 1.661m.

Elsewhere, US import prices recorded their largest drop in over three years on Thursday, with the rising cost of petroleum-based products and a strong USD weighing on the price of other goods.

The Labor Department revealed import prices had dropped 1.6% in November, the biggest decline since August 2015, after an unrevised 0.5% increase in October.

Economists had forecast a decrease of 0.9% in November.

Export prices increased 1.8% year-on-year.