U.S. stocks ended flat on Thursday after gains brought by a sign of improvement in the labor market were erased in part by a drop in Apple shares after a legal setback in a court ruling.

Traders have been bearish recently, with the S&P 500 down 2 percent in the last five sessions in anticipation of a weak earnings season. News that the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell to its lowest level in more than 4-1/2 years gave the market only marginal support.