U.S. stocks ended lower Thursday after wavering in a tight range, as Wall Street digested jobs data and quarterly earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 113.75 points, or 0.63 percent, to 17,982.52. The S&P 500 lost 10.92 points, or 0.52 percent, to 2,091.48. The Nasdaq Composite Index edged down 2.24 points, or 0.05 percent, to 4,945.89. In the week ending April 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 247,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 253,000, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday.
This is the lowest level for initial claims since Nov. 24, 1973, when it was 233,000. In corporate news, shares of Travelers plunged 6.05 percent to 108.79 U.S. dollars apiece Thursday after the U.S. insurer delivered quarterly earnings well below market consensus.
Shares of General Motors rose 1.46 percent to 32.66 dollars apiece Thursday after the U.S. auto giant posted better-than-expected quarterly results. Overseas, the European Central Bank (ECB) decided to leave the three key interest rates for the euro zone unchanged Thursday after the Governing Council meeting.
Broad financing conditions in the euro area have improved since further actions, including the expansion of the asset purchase program, were adopted by the ECB last month to strengthen monetary stimulus in the euro area, according to ECB President Mario Draghi at the press conference in Frankfurt, Germany. European equities closed mixed Thursday after Draghi's comments.
German benchmark DAX index at Frankfurt Stock Exchange inched up 0.14 percent, while British benchmark FTSE 100 Index added 0.45 percent. In Asia, China's stocks extended losses Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index going down 0.66 percent to 2, 952.89.
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