US markets will be closed Thursday and open for half the day on Friday.

Cases of COVID-19 continue to soar around the world, and deaths related to the sickness are growing, hitting more than 1.4 million people cumulatively worldwide. Worries are growing about it spreading during the Thanksgiving holiday in the US.

In Japan, authorities asked restaurants and bars to close early, and people to refrain from travel. European governments are looking to ease existing restrictions ahead of Christmas, though many limits on business are expected to continue.

Economic data has been mixed this week, with reports showing the number of Americans seeking unemployment aid jumped last week to the highest level in more than a month. A separate report showed consumer spending posted the weakest gain since April.

“The market overall has reached by most standards what we call overbought conditions, and that typically suggests that the market would need to digest the gains, perhaps pause a bit, and consolidate," said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial.

The Commerce Department said US consumer spending, the primary driver of the economy, rose by a sluggish 0.5 per cent in October, the weakest gain since April when the pandemic first erupted. At the same time, the government said that income, which provides the fuel for consumer spending, fell 0.7 per cent in October.

In energy trading, benchmark US crude shed 56 cents to $US45.15 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 61 cents to $US47.92 a barrel.

The dollar inched down to 104.25 yen from 104.50 yen. The euro cost $US1.1906, up from $1.1885.

AP