The Dow Jones Industrial Average erased earlier losses and squeezed out a small gain in thin trading Thursday after the market's strong back-to-back gains at the start of the holiday week.

The blue-chip Dow closed the day 28.77 points, or 0.07%, higher to 43,325.80 after losing about 182 points earlier in the session. The S&P 500 dipped just 2.45 points, or 0.04%, to 6,037.59. The Nasdaq Composite also ended the day slightly lower, declining less than 0.1% to 20,020.36. The market was closed on Wednesday for Christmas Day.

Thursday's action came after a solid Christmas Eve for the S&P 500. The benchmark's 1.1% gain on Tuesday marked its best Christmas Eve performance since 1974, according to Bespoke. So far this week, the S&P 500 is up 1.8%, while the Dow has gained 1.1%. The strong rally in megacap tech earlier in the week lifted the Nasdaq 2.3% week to date.

Investors were enthusiastic about the so-called Santa Claus rally, which occurs in the last five trading days of the year and the first two in January. Since 1950, the S&P 500 has generated an average return of 1.3% during this period, widely outpacing the market's average seven-day return of 0.3%, according to LPL Financial. Thursday marks the second day of the Santa rally.

"The Santa Claus Rally may be alive and well. We'll see, or it could be tough sledding," Michael Zinn, UBS Wealth Management's senior portfolio manager, said on CNBC's "Squawk Box." "It's a sleepy time of year. The institutions aren't really trading. It's a little bit more retail driven. So what happens at the end of the year is not necessarily an indicator for how January and February go."

On the data front, jobless claims for the week ended Dec. 21 totaled 219,000, compared to the 225,000 consensus forecast from economists surveyed by Dow Jones. However, continuing claims, or recurring applications for unemployment benefits, rose to 1.91 million, reaching the highest level since Nov. 13, 2021.

Month to date, the S&P 500 is up 0.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq has rallied 4.2%, due to the strong gains in Tesla, Apple and Alphabet. The blue-chip Dow, however, is down about 3.5%, on track for its worst month since April.

Mag 7 stocks lead the rally since election

The so-called Magnificent 7 stocks — Apple, Nvidia, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Amazon, Tesla and Microsoft — have rallied 20% on aggregate since Election Day, far outpacing the cap-weighted and equal-weighted versions of the S&P 500, according to LPL Financial.

These seven megacap stocks have contributed about 85% of the S&P 500's 4.5% gain since Nov. 5, the firm said.

— Yun Li

Natural gas futures fall 6%

Natural gas futures fell 6% on Thursday, reversing what had been a notable rally on Tuesday.

It was not clear what caused the slide for the commodity, which was much bigger than the move in oil on the day. Traders are likely tracking weather forecasts to estimate the demand for home heating.

Natural gas futures are still up more than 10% in December. The U.S. Energy Information Administration is set to release its next natural gas storage report on Friday.

— Jesse Pound

Small caps outperform

Small-cap stocks were able to break out of the market's sideways trading on Thursday.

The small cap-focused Russell 2000 climbed 0.6% in afternoon trading. That's despite the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite all trading near their flatlines.

The Russell 2000 has risen more than 1% so far this week, but is still down more than 6% compared with the start of December.

— Alex Harring

Apple sets a new all-time high Thursday and market value nears $4 trillion

Apple and Tapestry were the only two stocks in the S&P 500 to set new 52-week highs on Thursday, with Apple, also a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, trading at an all-time high. Wedbush raised its 12-month price target to $325 on Apple, whose market value reached $3.9 trillion. The new price target is the highest on Wall Street, and the first above $300, according to FactSet data.

Coach and Kate Spade owner Tapestry changed hands at the highest price since June 2012.

New 52-week lows among S&P 500 stocks came in Leggett & Platt, which was trading at the lowest since 1995, and Brown-Forman, which fell to its lowest since 2017.

— Scott Schnipper, Chris Hayes

Honda heads for best week since 2008

Thursday's rally in Honda shares put the automaker on track to notch its best week in around 16 years.

U.S.-listed shares of the carmaker climbed more than 4% in midday trading, pushing its week-to-date gain above 18%. If that holds through Friday's close, it would mark Honda's largest weekly advance since shares rose close to 19% in a week in December 2008.

This week's rally came after Honda announced official merger talks with fellow Japanese automaker Nissan. Despite the jump, shares are still down more than 8% for 2024.

— Alex Harring

UnitedHealth, Boeing and Honeywell account for all of DJIA gain Thursday

Just three stocks are accounting for all of the gain in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Thursday.

• UnitedHealth is sending the Dow roughly 28 points higher.
• Boeing is adding 18 points to the average.
• Honeywell is contributing about 17 points.

Every $1 move higher or lower in any stock in the DJIA moves the 129-year-old average by 6.15 points.

— Scott Schnipper

See the stocks moving midday

These are some of the stocks making notable moves in midday trading:

• KULR Technology Group — The space technology company skyrocketed more than 26% after it bought 217.18 bitcoin worth about $21 million. The cryptocurrency purchase was the first for the company since it announced a new bitcoin treasury initiative on Dec. 4.
• Toyota Motor — Shares climbed more than 8% after Nikkei, citing an executive who asked not to be named, reported that the automaker plans to double its return on equity target.
• Broadcom — Broadcom shares gained nearly 3%, adding to a strong year-to-date and December rally.

See the full list here.

— Alex Harring

Toyota shares on track for best day since March 2020 following ROE report

Shares of Toyota Motor rose more than 8% in morning trading, putting the stock on pace for its largest percentage increase in more than four years.

If the stock closes around this level, that would mark its best day since Mar. 17, 2020, when it gained more than 9%. The stock is also on pace for its sixth straight positive session.

The move comes on the heels of a Nikkei report, which cited an executive who asked not to be named, that said the Japanese automaker is aiming to double its return on equity, or ROE, a measure of profitability, to 20%.

While the stock has risen more than 14% over the past month, it has underperformed the broader market this year, rising more than 7% year to date.

— Sean Conlon

Crypto ETFs under pressure

Crypto markets appear to be suffering a bit of a holiday hangover.

The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) was down 2.9% in morning trading, while the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) was down 4.6%. Unlike the underlying digital coins, crypto exchange-traded funds did not trade on Christmas, so their move reflects the declines in those markets since Tuesday.

Bitcoin was trading at just under $96,000 on Thursday, according to Coin Metrics, and is now down about 1% for the week.

— Jesse Pound

Space tech company KULR Technology rallies 37% on bitcoin purchase

Space technology company KULR Technology rocketed more than 37% Thursday after it said it bought 217.18 bitcoin worth about $21 million. Earlier, it gained as much as 43%.

Thursday's bitcoin purchase was the first for the company since it announced a new bitcoin treasury initiative on Dec. 4, the day bitcoin hit the $100,000 level for the first time. Later, it rallied to a new record above $108,000, according to Coin Metrics, but has been down for the past week and is now 11% off that high.

KULR's newly acquired bitcoin came at an average price of about $96,556.53 a coin, the company said. The company plans to allocate up to 90% of its surplus cash to bitcoin, borrowing a page from MicroStrategy's playbook.

— Tanaya Macheel

Holiday season sales up 3.8% from a year ago, Mastercard says

Shoppers were ready, willing and able to spend this holiday season, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse. The firm, which tracks spending across all payment types, said retail sales rose 3.8% between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24, compared with the same period a year ago.

"Solid spending during this holiday season underscores the strength we observed from the consumer all year, supported by the healthy labor market and household wealth gains," said Michelle Meyer, chief economist at the Mastercard Economics Institute.

Still, shoppers were motivated by promotions and were definitely buying with value in mind. That may have prompted the late burst of buying during the season. About 10% of sales were rung up during the last five days before Christmas.

Online shopping grew even more popular this year, with e-commerce sales rising 6.7% year over year, while in-store purchases bumped up only 2.9%. Notably, apparel was a key e-commerce purchase, which could mean more returns for retailers this season.

In trading Thursday, the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) was up 0.22%. It has risen nearly 12% year to date.

— Christina Cheddar Berk

Jobless claims little changed, but continuing claims at 3-year high

Initial filings for unemployment insurance were little changed last week, though the ranks of the long-term unemployed appeared to rise, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Jobless claims totaled 219,000 for the week ending Dec. 21, just 1,000 below the previous period and less than the 225,000 consensus forecast from Dow Jones.

However, continuing claims, which run a week behind, rose to 1.91 million, an increase of 46,000 and the highest level since Nov. 13, 2021.

Extended duration of unemployment has been on the rise for most of this year. Those out of work for 27 weeks or longer totaled 1.66 million in November, the highest since January 2021, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

— Jeff Cox

Stocks making moves before the bell

These are some stocks making big moves in the premarket on Thursday:

• GameStop — Shares jumped more than 4%, extending their gains from Tuesday. The video game retailer has risen four straight days and climbed more than 77% in 2024.
• Crypto stocks — Stocks linked to the price of bitcoin moved lower as the cryptocurrency slid on Thursday. Shares of bitcoin proxy MicroStrategy fell about 3%, and crypto services provider Coinbase dropped about 2%. Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms pulled back more than 2%.
• Honda — U.S.-listed shares rose more than 4%, bringing this week's advance to about 14%, on the heels of merger talks announced at the start of the week with fellow Japanese automaker Nissan. The move also comes amid a rally among Asia-Pacific stocks following a report that Japan's government is reportedly set to propose a record $735 billion budget.

Read here for the full list.

— Sean Conlon

Stocks head for winning week

Stocks are on track to finish the holiday-shortened trading week in the green as of Thursday morning.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite has led the way, advancing more than 2%. The broad S&P 500 and blue-chip Dow have each climbed more than 1%.

If those gains hold through Friday's close, it would snap a three-week losing streak for the Dow. That has marked the Dow's longest period of back-to-back weekly declines since March.

— Alex Harring