U.S stocks fall on Fed comments, firming dollar; Dow slips 0.15%

Investors sold stocks on Thursday, taking profits in wake of several days of gains after better-than-expected jobless claims and hawkish comments from a Federal Reserve governor sparked demand for the safe-haven dollar.

At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 0.15%, the S&P 500 index fell 0.37%, while the Nasdaq Composite index fell 0.12%.

The dollar served as the asset of choice for many investors on Thursday.

The Department of Labor reported earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless claims in the U.S. last week fell by 4,000 to 323,000, defying expectations for an increase of 8,000 to 335,000.

The news sparked demand for the dollar by fueling sentiments the Fed may closer to winding down dollar-weakening stimulus programs, especially a monthly USD85 billion bond-buying program known as quantitative easing.

The dollar also gained after Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Charles Plosser told Bloomberg that he would like to see the asset-purchasing program slow down, which gave the dollar further support at the expense of equities.

Quantitative easing tends to send stock prices rising as a side effect.

Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included 3M, up 1.57%, DuPont, up 1.22%, and Merck, up 1.07%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included JPMorgan Chase, down 1.47%, AT&T, down 1.35%, and McDonald's, down 1.29%.

European indices, meanwhile, finished mixed.

After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.41%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.70%, while Germany's DAX 30 finished up 0.16%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 finished up 0.14%. 

On Friday, the U.S. is to report its latest data on the federal budget balance.

Also Friday, finance ministers and central bank heads from the Group of Seven nations are to hold the first day of a two day summit meeting.