Wall Street see-sawed to a lower close on Thursday amid choppy trading, as investors tackled the new year having to contend with a strong labour market, a rising dollar and tumbling Tesla shares.

All three major US stocks ended the session in negative territory, a reversal of an earlier rally but off session lows.

"We had some macro news but somewhat mixed and you know we have a very strong dollar today," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York. "There are a few hurdles over the next couple of weeks and those are next Friday’s employment data and the beginning of fourth quarter earnings."

"In the short term, we’re looking at choppiness and a struggle for direction until we get those hurdles out of the way," Cardillo added.

Shares of Tesla sank after reporting its first annual drop in deliveries, as incentives failed to stem a decline in demand for its ageing line-up of electric vehicles.

A report from the Labor Department showed initial and continuing claims for unemployment benefits both fell last week, supporting the narrative of a solid jobs market and adding weight to the possibility that the US central bank could let its key interest rate stand at this month's policy meeting.

Looking past uncertainties regarding the pace of interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, policies to be enacted by the incoming Donald Trump administration and various hot spots of geopolitical unrest, market participants chose to focus on the strength of the United States economy.

Wall Street's main indexes notched double-digit gains in 2024, with the benchmark S&P 500 recording its best two-year run since 1997-1998. Those gains were driven by the US Federal Reserve's first rate cuts in three-and-a-half years, the ongoing artificial intelligence boom and expectations of pro-business policies from the incoming Trump administration.

The rally lost steam in the closing weeks of 2024, with the S&P 500 and the Dow marking declines for December, as markets priced in the likelihood of fewer rate cuts from the Fed this year.

The S&P 500 lost 13.07 points, or 0.22 percent, to 5,868.56 points, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 30.00 points, or 0.16 percent, to 19,280.79. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 151.95 points, or 0.36 percent, to 42,392.27.

The S&P and the Nasdaq have now posted five consecutive sessions in the red, their longest losing streak since mid-April.

Apple shares slid as the gadgetmaker offered rare discounts in China in order to compete against domestic rivals.

Crypto stocks such as Coinbase, MicroStrategy and MARA Holdings advanced, tracking higher Bitcoin prices. (Reuters)