U.S. stocks were little changed on Thursday as signs of recovery in the jobs market were offset by weak data on housing and regional business conditions.

In their public trading debut, shares of LinkedIn Corp opened more than 80 percent above their IPO price in a jump reminiscent of the heyday of investors' love affair with Internet stocks.

We're moving generally to defensive names, and usually it's kind of in that environment (where) it adds up to a go-slow environment for stocks in the next couple of months, said Steve Goldman, market strategist at Weeden & Co in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Wall Street got off to a strong start after weekly jobless claims data suggested the labor market was on track for recovery.

But factory activity in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region grew much more slowly than expected in May.

In addition, sales of previously owned U.S. homes fell in April in a sign the housing market is still struggling.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 6.05 points, or 0.05 percent, at 12,566.23. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 0.97 point, or 0.07 percent, at 1,339.71. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 2.88 points, or 0.10 percent, at 2,812.12.

LinkedIn shares rose to $88.70 on the New York Stock Exchange, 97 percent above the $45 initial public offering price.

(Reporting by Angela Moon, Editing by Kenneth Barry)