The U.S. stocks wobbled on Thursday, with major indexes finishing the sessions mixed after their best three-day rally in nearly three years, as euphoria faded after the Dow soaring nearly 500 points in the previous session.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 25.65 points, or 0.21 percent, to 12,020.03, the first decline in last five sessions. The Standard & Poor's 500 was down 2.38 points, or 0.19 percent, to 1,244.58. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 5.86 points, or 0.22 percent, to 2,626.20.

Boeing company jumped more than 3.3 percent to lead the blue- chip Dow while Alcoa dropped more than 2 percent, the biggest loser in the 30 Dow components, after soaring 7.6 percent in the previous session.

In the previous session, the U.S. stocks surged after world's major central banks took coordinated action to boost liquidity in the world financial system.

Hopes for a radical solution to the debt problems in Europe continued to provide some support for the market, especially after the bond auctions in Spain and France met solid demand on Thursday, sending yields lower across Europe.

Also boosting sentiment, a report showed that manufacturing expanded in Nov. at the fastest pace in five months, underscoring the fact that U.S. economy continued to outperform Europe.

Retailers reported monthly revenue at stores open at least a year, an indicator of a merchant's health, which beat Wall Street estimates. The overall tally for the 21 retailers that reported revenue for Nov. rose 3.2 percent, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.

However, checking the gains, the Labor Department said that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits rose by 6,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 402,000, suggesting the jobs market was still recovering in a very slow pace. While the four- week average, a more stable measure, was still slightly below 400, 000.

Investors were cautiously awaiting the monthly non-farm payroll report, due out on Friday, to see how the jobs market fared last month.

According to economists surveyed by Bloomberg, payrolls may have climbed by 125,000 workers in Nov., after rising 80,000 the prior month, while the unemployment rate likely held at 9 percent.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet