Stocks Ended Lower ahead of Yellen Speech

U.S. stocks finished lower on Thursday as hints from Federal Reserve officials that a rate increase may be warranted soon weighed on sentiment ahead of the much-anticipated speech by Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen on Friday. The Dow industrials shed 33.07 points, or 0.18%, to 18,448.41. The S&P 500 slid 2.97 points, or 0.14%, to 2,172.47. The Nasdaq Composite fell 5.49 points, or 0.11%, to 5,212.20.

Two Federal Reserve officials argued the case for another interest-rate increase in interviews on the eve of an eagerly awaited speech by Chair Janet Yellen in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that will be scoured for hints of a move that could come as soon as September.

Crude-oil futures finished higher on Thursday , shrinking their week-to-date decline to roughly 3.4%. October West Texas Intermediate crude added 56 cents, or 1.2%, to settle at $47.33 a barrel. October Brent crude finished up 62 cents, or 1.3%, to $49.67 a barrel.

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday announced it had levied penalties against 13 investment advisory firms for advertising false performance claims about their flagship products.

Ride-hailing giant Uber Technologies Inc lost at least $1.27 billion before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the first six months of 2016, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. The subsidies Uber grants its drivers was the main reason for the loss, finance head Gautam Gupta told investors in a quarterly conference call, Bloomberg said,