U.S. markets couldn't quite agree on a direction Thursday, with the Dow Jones charging ahead while tech stocks took a breather. The result? A split decision that left investors parsing through economic data and stock-specific moves to figure out what it all means.

The Dow traded up 0.54% to 49,261.60, adding more than 250 points, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.62% to 23,437.73. The S&P 500 essentially shrugged, dipping just 0.05% to 6,917.76.

Sector Rotation in Full Swing

Industrials had a solid day, climbing 1.4% and helping push the Dow higher. It was a classic rotation trade—when one area of the market gets hot, another cools off. Information technology stocks fell 1.4%, acting as the Nasdaq's anchor.

Jobs Data Comes in Slightly Hot

The labor market update delivered a small surprise. U.S. initial jobless claims increased by 8,000 from the previous week to 208,000 in the week ending January 3. That's actually below the market consensus of 210,000, suggesting the job market remains relatively tight even as claims nudged higher.

Big Movers Worth Watching

Some individual stocks put on quite a show. Flyexclusive Inc. (FLYX) absolutely rocketed, jumping 126% to $7.10 after landing a deal as an authorized Starlink Aviation dealer. Apparently, the market really likes the idea of private jets with satellite internet.

Enliven Therapeutics Inc. (ELVN) surged 54% to $23.81 following encouraging initial data from its Phase 1b ENABLE clinical trial. The company is testing ELVN-001 in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia that's relapsed, refractory, or intolerant to existing tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

MoonLake Immunotherapeutics (MLTX) gained 29% to $14.54 after announcing that FDA feedback confirmed it may be able to establish substantial evidence of effectiveness for hidradenitis suppurativa without running additional clinical trials. That's a big deal—fewer trials means faster potential approval and lower development costs.

On the Downside

Immuneering Corp. (IMRX) dropped 39% to $5.10 despite announcing updated overall survival and safety data from its Phase 2a trial of atebimetinib combined with modified gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel in first-line pancreatic cancer patients. The market clearly didn't like what it saw in those numbers, even with over 13 months of median follow-up time.

Acrivon Therapeutics Inc. (ACRV) fell 31% to $2.05 after releasing Phase 2b endometrial cancer clinical data for ACR-368, along with initial data for ACR-2316 and news about its next development candidate, ACR-6840, targeting CDK11.

CorMedix Inc. (CRMD) declined 23% to $8.00 following the release of preliminary fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 revenue results that apparently disappointed investors.

Commodities and Precious Metals

Oil climbed 1.8% to $56.98, while gold edged down 0.1% to $4,456.70. Silver had a rougher day, falling 3.6% to $74.820, and copper dropped 1.7% to $5.7600.

Global Markets Roundup

European markets were similarly indecisive. The eurozone's STOXX 600 slipped 0.27%, while Spain's IBEX 35 Index managed a 0.27% gain. London's FTSE 100 declined 0.06%, Germany's DAX fell 0.08%, and France's CAC 40 rose 0.06%.

Asian markets closed lower across the board. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.63%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 1.17%, China's Shanghai Composite slipped 0.07%, and India's BSE Sensex dropped 0.92%.

Economic Data Dump

Beyond the jobless claims number, several other economic reports hit the wires Thursday. Nonfarm business sector labor productivity rose by 4.9% in the third quarter, an acceleration from the revised 4.1% gain in the prior quarter. That's a genuinely impressive number—higher productivity means companies are getting more output per worker.

Unit labor costs in the nonfarm business sector fell by 1.9% in the third quarter, a welcome surprise compared to market expectations for 1.0% growth. Lower labor costs give companies more breathing room on margins.

Perhaps most striking was the trade deficit data. The U.S. trade deficit shrank to $29.4 billion in October, the smallest gap since June 2009. That's a massive improvement from the revised $48.1 billion deficit in September and well below market estimates of a $58.1 billion gap. Whether that trend continues remains to be seen, but it's certainly eye-catching.