Stocks Ended Lower on Tax-delay Jitters

U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday, weighed down by losses in Apple Inc and other technology stocks as investors turned their attention to a U.S. Senate Republican plan that would delay corporate tax cuts. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 101.42 points, or 0.43%, to 23,461.94. The S&P 500 lost 9.76 points, or 0.38%, to 2,584.62. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 39.07 points, or 0.58%, to 6,750.05.

Oil prices climbed back toward two-year highs on Thursday, as a report that Saudi Arabia has urged its nationals to leave Lebanon immediately implied worsening tensions in the Middle East, increasing the risk to global crude supplies. West Texas Intermediate oil for December rose 36 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $57.17 a barrel. Brent crude for January delivery rose 44 cents, or 0.7%, to $63.93 a barrel.

Nvidia Corp reported a 54.6 percent rise in quarterly profit, driven by strong demand for its graphics chips used in gaming devices, data centers, autonomous vehicles and also by cryptocurrency miners. Net income rose to $838 million, or $1.33 per share, in the third quarter ended Oct. 29, from $542 million, or 83 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose to $2.64 billion from $2 billion.

The Walt Disney Company (DIS) reported an earnings and revenue miss. The company reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $175 billion, or $1.13 a share, compared with $1.77 billion, or $1.10 a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings were $1.07 a share. Revenue fell to $12.78 billion from $13.14 billion in the year-ago period.