New York: US stocks closed mixed as tech shares continued to slide after a weak trading session, weighing on the market.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Thursday rose 20.88 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 25,995.87. The S&P 500 decreased 10.55 points, or 0.37 per cent, to 2,878.05, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 72.45 points, or 0.91 per cent, to 7,922.73.
US chipmakers were among the worst performers in tech sector. Shares of Micron Technology and Lam Research dropped 9.87 per cent and 6.97 per cent, respectively, as market closes. Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Twitter also underperformed.
Investors kept a close eye on the US-Canada trade talks and digested a slew of economic data.
Negotiators from the US and Canada on Wednesday resumed trade talks to bridge their differences on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) after the two sides failed to reach a deal last week.
On the economic front, the number of US weekly jobless claims was 203,000 last week, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The 4-week moving average was 209,500, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week’s unrevised average of 212,250.
US private sector employment increased by 163,000 jobs from July to August, ADP August National Employment Report showed.
Meanwhile, the US Institute for Supply Management (ISM) non-manufacturing index rose to 58.5 in August from the July reading of 55.7, beating market consensus. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the service sector while a reading below 50 signals contraction.
[source_without_link]IANS[/source_without_link]