U.S. stocks closed mixed on Thursday as investors were digesting strong inflation data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 45.30 points, or 0.20 percent, to 22,203.48. The S&P 500 lost 2.75 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,495.62. The Nasdaq Composite Index erased 31.10 points, or 0.48 percent, to 6,429.08.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.4 percent in August on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.

Over the last 12 months, consumer prices rose 1.9 percent. The 12-month change in the index for all items less food and energy remained at 1.7 percent for the fourth month in a row, according to the report.

Wall Street has kept close eye on the inflation data as they might indicate the Federal Reserve's next move.

Market expectations for a Fed rate hike in December increased to 52.9 percent from 41.3 percent after the data were released, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said in a separate report that in the week ending September 9, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted new U.S. jobless claims was 284,000, down 14,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 298,000.

The four-week moving average was 263,250, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 250,250. This is the highest level for this average since August 13, 2016 when it was 263,250, according to the report.