Stocks Ended Lower on Trade, Oil Price Concerns

U.S stocks ended lower on Thursday, as investors grappled with escalating trade tensions and rising oil prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 54.95 points, or 0.22%, to 24,713.98. The S&P 500 lost 2.33 points, or 0.09%, to 2,720.13. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 15.82 points, or 0.21%, to 7,382.47.

Crude-oil prices ended little changed on Thursday. June West Texas Intermediate crude settled unchanged at $71.49 a barrel. July Brent crude edged up by 2 cents to settle at $79.30 a barrel.

Chip gear maker Applied Materials Inc reported a 28.8 percent rise in quarterly revenue on Thursday. Net income rose to $1.13 billion, or $1.09 per share, in the second quarter ended April 29, from $824 million , or 76 cents per share, a year earlier. Net sales rose to $4.57 billion from $3.55 billion.

PayPal Holdings Inc <PYPL> is in advanced talks to buy Swedish payment group iZettle, Sky News reported on Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter.