Stocks were little changed Thursday following a record day for equities, as bullishness from the cryptocurrency market drove most gains early in the session. Stocks continued to dip as market participants looked ahead towards Friday's key jobs report, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling over 200 points, and the S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq Composite slipping below the flatline.

Here's how the market settled on Thursday:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): -0.19% or -11.32 points to 6,075.16

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): -0.55% or -247.97 points to 44,766.07

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): -0.18% or -34.86 points to 19,700.26

Bitcoin Strength

Cryptocurrency names like MicroStrategy (MSTR  ), Robinhood Markets (HOOD  ) and Coinbase Global (COIN  ) each climbed higher on Thursday morning as bitcoin rose above $100,000 for the first time overnight, but ultimately gave up gains in the afternoon.

Being a stock with large exposure to bitcoin, MicroStrategy has risen nearly 500% year-to-date as the cryptocurrency market continues to garner strength heading into the year's end. Coinbase has also doubled its value this year as the company operates a popular crypto exchange, while Robinhood's crypto trade options have led the stock to gain over 200% year-to-date.

In the News:

Boeing's (BA  ) plea deal connected to a criminal fraud charge tied to fatal crashes of its 737 Max planes was rejected by U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas on Thursday, with O'Connor expressing concern that a government-appointed monitor selection would include diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

The judge wrote that "the Court is not convinced in light of the foregoing that the Government will not choose a monitor without race-based considerations and thus will not act in a nondiscriminatory manner. In a case of this magnitude, it is in the utmost interest of justice that the public is confident this montir selection is done based solely on competency."

The deal was set to allow Boeing to avoid a trial, with the company instead facing a fine of up to $487.2 million in addition to the appointed monitor.

Discount prescription provider GoodRx (GDRX  ) announced Thursday that U.S. prescriptions for weight loss drugs have more than doubled in 2024, as demand for the "miracle" injections continues to swell across the market.

Prescription fills for Novo Nordisk's (NVO  ) Wegovey and Eli Lilly's (LLY  ) Zepbound increased by more than 100% and 300%, respectively, since the start of the year, according to GoodRx's new Weight Loss Medications Tracker -- monitoring U.S. trends and spending patterns for the drugs. This comes as only 9% of Americans with commercial insurance have unrestricted coverage (without need for further authorization or BMI requirements) for Zepbound and 14% for Wegovy, according to GoodRx.

"It's just a pretty astronomical increase in sales, and because of that, a lot of eyes are on them around their affordability and accessibility," said Tori March, director of research at GoodRx, in an interview, quote by CNBC.

American Airlines (AAL  ) announced it has completed its credit card deal with Citigroup (C  ) on Thursday, officially dropping Barclays (BCS  ) -- one of its last relationships from its 2013 merger with US Airways. The carrier plans to start transitioning Barclays cardholders to Citi in 2026, with the bank taking over credit card sign-up promotions from there.

The airline expects payments for its co-branded credit card and other partners to increase 10% a year. In the 12 months through Sept. 30, American earned $5.6 billion from these deals.

In Economic News:

Initial Unemployment Claims rose at a more-than-expected rate for the week ended Nov. 20, the Labor Department reported Thursday, increasing by 9,000 from the previous week to 224,000. Continuing claims, which are tracked a week behind, dipped lower are trending higher for the past two months, totaling 1.87 million.

U.S. Trade Deficit came in at a lower-than-expected print in October, the Census Bureau reported Thursday, totaling $73.8 billion. That total was $10 billion below September's deficit and less than the $74.8 billion estimated by Dow Jones consensus. For the year, the deficit in goods and services is up 12.3% compared to the same period in 2023.

On the Earnings Front:

American Eagle (AEO  ) shares fell on Thursday after the apparel retailer offered weak holiday-quarter guidance after narrowing missing third-quarter expectations late Wednesday. Chief Executive Officer Jay Schottenstein noted that demand has remained inconsistent as value-seeking consumers look to only spend during sales events.

"We have entered the holiday season well positioned, with our leading brands offering high-quality merchandise, great gifts and an outstanding shopping experience across channels," Schottenstein said in a statement. "Key selling periods have seen a positive customer response, yet we remain cognizant of potential choppiness during non-peak periods."

For its holiday quarter, American Eagle expects comparable sales to increase by 1% and total sales to decline by 4%, with the outlook including a $85 million impact from a later start to the holiday shopping season. For its full-year, the company expects comparable sales to rise by 3%, below its prior forecast of 4% growth, and sales to increase by 1%, compared to its previous guidance of growth between 2% and 3%.

Looking Ahead:

The Federal Reserve is set to issue its final monetary policy decision on the year Dec. 17-18, with nearly 72% of investors expecting policymakers to issue another 25 basis rate cut from its current target range of 4.50% to 4.75%.

On Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said during an interview at The New York Times' DealBook Summitt that the U.S. economy is currently strong enough for policymakers to carefully consider further rate cuts.

"The labor market is better, and the downside risks appear to be less than the labor market," Powell said. "Growth is definitely stronger than we thought, and inflation is coming [out] a little higher. So, the good news is that we can afford to be a little more cautious as we try to find neutral.

For Friday:

Market participants will parse through November's "official" jobs report due out Friday morning, alongside December's preliminary consumer sentiment reading and a series of Fedspeak. Key earnings reports for Friday include Lululemon Athletica (LULU  ), Ulta Beauty (ULTA  ) and DocuSign (DOCU  ).