Stocks flat on last trading day before Christmas

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks were mixed in light trading Thursday after reports showed small improvements in consumer spending and the job market.

The Commerce Department said that consumer spending rose 0.4 percent in November from the month before. That was slightly below analysts' forecast of a 0.5 percent gain.

Separately, the Labor Department said the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits for the first time fell by 3,000 last week to 420,000, in line with Wall Street estimates. That number is just low enough to indicate modest job growth.

"While you did not see a marked drop in the jobless numbers, there is a steady decline," said Quincy Krosby, a market …