Wall Street ends flat, as European shares rally

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

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 18.58 points, or 0.14 percent, to 13,326.39. The S&P 500 edged up 0.28 point, or 0.02 percent, to 1,432.84. The Nasdaq Composite dipped 2.37 points, or 0.08 percent, to 3,049.41.

European stocks rallied after a drop in US jobless claims while Spain's credit downgrade raised expectations that Madrid would soon request a bailout.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed 0.8 percent higher at 1,098.80 points, snapping a three-day losing streak during which the index had lost 1.9 percent.

Japan's Nikkei share average fell to its lowest close in more than two months on mounting fears that upcoming corporate earnings will be weak after the US results season got off to a slow start.

The Nikkei dropped 0.6 percent to 8,546.78 points, losing ground for a third straight session. The benchmark has lost 8 percent since hitting a four-month high on September 19.

The broader Topix index slipped 0.4 percent to 713.95 in relatively active trade, with 1.72 billion shares changing hands, up from yesterday's 1.59 billion and last week's average of 1.45 billion.