US stocks closed with modest losses on Thursday in a choppy trade as investors gauged the latest round of economic data and the Federal Reserve’s policy statement against tariff concerns. The Nasdaq Composite slipped over 0.3 per cent, the S&P 500 lost 0.22 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended nearly unchanged. Earlier, Labour Department data showed that weekly initial jobless claims increased slightly last week. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 2,23,000 for the week ended on 15th March.