New Delhi, Dec. 24 -- The stock indices on Wall Street were mostly flat in shortened Christmas eve trading on Wednesday.

The trading volumes are expected to stay thin, with the US stock markets set to close at 1 PM ET (1800 GMT) on Wednesday and remain shut on Thursday for Christmas holiday.

At 09:40 AM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 39.02 points, or 0.08%, to 48,481.43, the S&P 500 gained 0.12 points, or 0.01%, to 6,909.91 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 28.64 points, or 0.12%, to 23,533.20.

Among the S&P sectoral indices, six of the 11 were trading higher, with healthcare leading the way, while energy lagged.

On the economic front, official data on Wednesday showed new claims for US unemployment benefits fell last week.

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