NEW YORK, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. dollar traded mixed against major currencies in late New York trading on Thursday as U. S. jobless claim fell last week helped boost stock markets.

The U.S. Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims dropped by 7000 to 395,000 last week, the lowest level since early April. The upbeat job data showed the recovery of job market might pick up momentum and helped to stimulate investors'confidence

The stock markets surged as investors carefully transfer more investments into riskier assets. The dollar index was flat at 74. 64 on Thursday.

The euro rebounded against the dollar after a sell-off of European stocks on Tuesday due to France's credit rating downgrade worry.

The Swiss franc dropped sharply as a Swiss central bank official said that the currency might peg to the euro for a limited period to prevent gains.

In late Thursday trading, the dollar bought 76.83 yen, unchanged from late Wednesday, and the euro rose to 1.4216 dollars from 1.4208.

The British pound also rose to 1.6213 dollars from 1.6160. The dollar rose from 0.7296 Swiss francs to 0.7636, but fell to 0.9865 Canadian dollars from 0.9906.