Investing.com -- U.S. stocks inched down on Thursday reversing some of its gains from the previous session, as a relatively weak U.S. jobs report and the continuing Greek Debt crisis weighed.
On Thursday morning, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics said non-farm payrolls in June rose by 223,000, slightly lower than consensus estimates from economists of a 230,000 gain. The slight pullback comes a month after a robust report in May when the economy added 280,000 non-farm jobs. The benign employment report could convince dovish policymakers at the Fed to delay the timing of a highly anticipated interest rate hike beyond September.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ Composite index fell slightly as shares in Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) lagged, while the S&P Composite index also moved lower on a bearish day for stocks. The Dow fell 27.83 or 0.16% to 17,730.08, ending the week down by more than 200 points. The NASDAQ lost 3.91 or 0.08% to 5,009.21, also closing lower on the week.
The S&P 500, meanwhile, dipped 0.66 or 0.03% to 2,076.77, as 6 of 10 sectors closed in the red. Stocks in the Financials, Basic Materials and Health Care industries lagged, each falling by more than 0.3%. Stocks in the Utilities sector led, spiking by 1.35%.
Shares in BP (LONDON:BP) gained more than 5% on Thursday, after the London oil giant announced it had reached an $18.7 billion settlement with the U.S. federal government and five Gulf states to resolve litigation related to a 2010 Deepwater Horizon accident. Shares inYelp Inc (NYSE:YELP) also plunged nearly 10% in Thursday's session, after CEO Jeremy Stoppelman said the San Francisco-based business review website is not actively searching for a merger with a bigger tech company.
The top performer on the Dow was Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), which gained 0.38 or 1.24% to 30.56. The worst performer was EI du Pont de Nemours and Company (NYSE:DD), which fell 1.44 or 2.34% to 59.99, after analysts at RBC cut its price target.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), which rose by more than 4% after a surge in Model S deliveries in recent weeks helped lead to a 52% increase in its overall sales in the second quarter. Tesla finished just above Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:VRTX), which gained 5.07 or 4.02% to 131.26. Shares in Vertex shot up after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its cystic fibrosis drug Orkambi on Thursday. The worst performer was Liberty Global (NASDAQ:LBTYA), which fell 3.77 or 6.92% to 50.70.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was CONSOL Energy Inc (NYSE:CNX), which gained 0.87 or 4.16% to 21.80. The worst performer was NiSource Inc (NYSE:NI), after the Indiana-based natural gas and electric utility announced a split with Columbia Pipeline on Thursday. Shares in Nisource plunged 28.49 or 62.68% to 16.96.
On the New York Stock Exchange, advancers outnumbered decliners by a 1,570-1,562 margin.