U.S. stocks close slightly higher ahead of payrolls

U.S. stocks mostly closed with slight gains on Thursday, recovering off earlier losses as investors looked ahead to the August payroll report. The S&P 500 [S: SPX] fell 0.22 point, or less than 0.1%, to 2170.86, with financial and energy shares keeping the benchmark index in negative territory. The Dow Jones Industrial Average [S: DJIA] rose 17.67 points, or 0.1%, to 18,418.75. The blue-chip index was boosted by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. [S: WMT], which rose 2% to $72.84. The Nasdaq Composite Index [S: COMP] rose 13.99 points, or 0.3%, to 5,227.21. All three indexes had been lower earlier in the session following an unexpectedly weak report on the manufacturing sector from the Institute for Supply Management.

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