The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 31.59 points (0.25 per cent) to 12,454.45 in early opening trade and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 18.59 points (0.80 per cent) to 2,305.77.

The broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 0.49 point (0.04 per cent) to 1,340.64.

On Wednesday, shares tumbled on lackluster economic news on the housing market and the factory sector. The Dow closed down a 0.88 per cent, the Nasdaq composite lost 0.71 per cent and the S&P 500 dropped 0.88 per cent.

The government's final report on 2007 fourth-quarter economic growth, released on Thursday, left its prior estimates of 0.6 percent unchanged, as had been widely expected.

However, the government said consumer price inflation, as measured by Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE), rose 3.9 per cent, down from a prior estimate of 4.1 per cent.

The core PCE reading, which strips out volatile food and energy costs, was revised downward to 2.5 per cent from 2.7 per cent.

In the tech sector, Oracle Corp. shares were under pressure after the company reported Wednesday fiscal third-quarter profits that rose 30 per cent and matched Wall Street's estimates - but sales that fell well below analysts' projections. -- AFP