US stocks closed mixed in volatile session but S&P 500 avoids stepping into bear market

• US stocks end lower Thursday as economic data kept worries about a recession or stagflation simmering.
• The S&P 500 avoided dropping into a bear market just four months after hitting an all-time high.

Thursday's seesaw session in US stocks ended in losses as economic data came in weaker than investors had anticipated, but the benchmark S&P 500 index managed not to slip into a bear market.

Major benchmarks darted between gains and losses as investors evaluated fresh economic data that pointed to softening conditions, further stoking concerns about stagflation or even a looming recession. The S&P 500 fell but not by enough to register a bear market, or a loss of 20% or more from a recent high. The steepness in the index's daily loss was mitigated by gains in the materials, consumer discretionary, and health care sectors.

Here's where US indexes stood at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday:

• S&P 500: 3,900.72, down 0.59%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 31,253.26, down 0.75% (236.81 points)
• Nasdaq Composite:

Weekly jobless claims rose by 21,000 to 218,000, an unexpected increase to the highest amount of filing for unemployment benefits since January. Also, the Philly Fed Index of manufacturing activity dropped by 15 points in May to 2.6, well below the Econoday consensus estimate of 16.1.

Bond yields rose as investors bought government debt in a flight to safety. The closely watched 10-year Treasury yield fell to a three-week low during the session.

More pain came from the retail sector, with Kohl's cutting its yearly outlook, adding to disappointing results this week from Walmart and Target.

Around the markets, hedge fund Melvin Capital is shutting down a year after losing billions of dollars from its GameStop short-squeeze

Cathie Wood says it's 'ridiculous' that Tesla got booted out of the S&P 500's ESG index.

The crash of TerraUSD will be followed by more cryptocurrency failures, warned SEC chief Gary Gensler.

Oil prices were mixed. West Texas Intermediate crude turned higher, rising 2.4% to $112.25 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, narrowed losses to 0.2% at $111.84.

Gold gained 1.3% to $1,839.40 per ounce. The 10-year yield fell 4 basis points to 2.84%.

Bitcoin rose 2.9% to $30,056.37.