Wall Street Flat Ahead of March Jobs Data

U.S. stocks were little changed at the open on Thursday, the last day of a turbulent quarter for financial markets.

While weekly jobless claims were slightly higher than expected, investors are awaiting the critical non-farm payrolls report on Friday that will give a clearer reading on the state of the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 5.28 points, or 0.03 percent, to 17,721.94, the S&P 500 lost 0.41 points, or 0.02 percent, to 2,063.54 and the Nasdaq composite dropped 0.95 points, or 0.02 percent, to 4,868.35.

(Reporting by Tanya Agrawal)