Investing.com - U.S. stocks finished Thursday mixed to lower after disappointing housing data and lackluster earnings sent a handful of investors selling equities for profits.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow 30 fell 0.02%, the S&P 500 index rose 0.05%, while the NASDAQ Composite index fell 0.4%.
The Volatility S&P 500 index, which measures the outlook for market volatility, was up 3.04% at 11.87.
Earnings season is underway and the results have been positive for many, including Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA), Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ), Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (NYSE:CMG), Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) and others.
Profit taking kicked in on Thursday despite upbeat earnings from Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), as disappointing numbers from Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) and Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) prompted some investors to sell and take a breather on the sidelines to digest mixed U.S. data.
Broader equities managed to remain stable after data revealed initial jobless claims in the U.S. fell to an eight-year low.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported earlier that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending July 19 declined by 19,000 to 284,000, down from the previous week’s total of 303,000.
Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 5,000 to 308,000 last week.
Elsewhere, the Census Bureau reported that U.S. new home sales dropped by 8.1% to 406,000 units last month, worse than expectations for a decline of 5.3%.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average performers included Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), up 1.60%, The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV), up 1.21%, and Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), up 0.89%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), down 3.09%, Boeing Company (NYSE:BA), down 1.83%, and AT&T Inc (NYSE:T), down 1.10%.
European indices, meanwhile, ended the day higher.
After the close of European trade, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.83%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.78%, while Germany's DAX rose 0.42%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 rose 0.34%.
On Thursday the U.S. is to produce data on unemployment claims, manufacturing activity and new home sales.