U.S. markets mixed at close

Markets were mixed in New York after the Commerce Department said the U.S. trade deficit was unchanged in August at $45.6 billion. The Department of Labor said first time jobless claims for the week ending Saturday were also steady, dropping by only 1,000 to 404,000 for the week. By close of trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average gave up 40.72 points, or 0.35 percent, to 11,478.13. The Standard & Poor's 500 index shed 3.59 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,203.66. The Nasdaq composite index added 15.51 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,629.24. On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,179 stocks advanced and 1,849 declined on a volume of 3.8 billion shares traded. The benchmark 10-year treasury note rose 11/32 to yield 2.178 percent. The euro fell to $1.3783 from Wednesday's $1.3791. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 76.86 yen from Wednesday's 77.26 yen. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index added 0.97 percent, 84.35, to 8,823.25. In London, the FTSE 100 index lost 0.71 percent, 38.42, to 5,403.38.