NEW YORK, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) — U.S. stocks finished lower on Thursday as investors are awaiting the nation’s key inflation readings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 0.06 points, or 0.0002 percent, to 35,754.69. The S&P 500 dropped 33.76 points, or 0.72 percent, to 4,667.45. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 269.62 points, or 1.71 percent, to 15,517.37.

Nine of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with consumer discretionary and real estate down 1.7 percent and 1.36 percent, respectively, leading the laggards. The health care and the consumer staples groups, however, eked out modest gains.

U.S.-listed Chinese companies traded mostly lower with nine of the top 10 stocks by weight in the S&P U.S. Listed China 50 index ending the day on a downbeat note.

On the data front, U.S. initial jobless claims, a rough way to measure layoffs, registered 184,000 in the week ending Dec. 4, a decrease of 43,000 from the prior week’s revised level, the Department of Labor reported on Thursday. It marked the lowest level for initial claims since Sept. 6, 1969 when it was 182,000, according to the report.

The November U.S. consumer price index, a key inflation gauge, is slated for Friday.