NEW YORK, March 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks closed mixed on Thursday as investors pondered over a string of economic reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 115.54 points, or 0.47 percent, to 24,873.66. The S&P 500 was down 2.15 points, or 0.08 percent, to 2,747.33. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 15.07 points, or 0.20 percent, to 7,481.74.

In the week ending March 10, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 226,000, a decrease of 4,000 from the previous week's revised level, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday.

The four-week moving average was 221,500, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's revised average.

In a separate report, the department announced that U.S. import prices increased 0.4 percent in February, beating market consensus of 0.3 percent, while prices for U.S. exports rose 0.2 percent in February following a 0.8-percent advance in the previous month.

Meanwhile, business activity grew robustly in New York state, according to firms responding to the March 2018 Empire State Manufacturing Survey. The headline general business conditions index climbed nine points to 22.5, above market expectations of 15.0.

Some analysts said that worries over President Donald Trump's protectionist stance against trading partners cast a shadow on the market. Enditem