Investing.com – U.S. stocks closed lower on Thursday, as large-cap technology stocks tumbled offsetting gains in banking and energy stocks while weaker than expected initial jobless claims data weighed on sentiment.
Investors piled into banking stocks for the second-straight day, after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday approved capital plans for all 34 firms taking part its annual stress tests, stoking expectations that several banks will announce significant increases to dividends and share buy backs.
Gains in banking stocks failed to offset in financials as investors ditched large-cap tech stocks such as Facebook, Apple, Amazon, and Amazon, which fell more than 1% for the session.
In economic news mulled over the release of mixed bag of data release, gross domestic product increased at a 1.4% annual rate instead of the 1.2% reported last month.
Analysts had forecast the final reading of first-quarter GDP growth to remain unchanged at a 1.2% rate.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday that initial jobless claims unexpectedly increased by 2,000 to 244,000 in the week ended June 25, compared to forecasts of a 2,000 decline.
In corporate news, shares of Nike surged in after hours trade, after the sportswear giant’s earnings and revenue topped expectations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 21,287.03. The S&P 500 closed 0.86% lower while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 6144.35, down 1.44%.
The ‘Bulls and Bears’ on Wall Street
The top Dow gainers for the session: JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) up 1.5% and Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS) up 0.5%.
Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) down 2.1%, Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) down 1.9% and Visa Inc (NYSE:V) down 1.9%, were among the worst Dow performers of the session.