Stocks Opened Mostly Lower, as Facebook Led Tech Selloff

U.S. stocks opened mostly lower on Thursday, as Facebook led a selloff in technology stocks, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was buoyed after the European Union and the United States agreed to negotiate on trade. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately rose 150.66 points, or 0.59%, to 25,564.7. The S&P 500 was down 6.52 points, or 0.23%, to 2,839.55. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 79.66 points, or 1.00%, to 7,852.58.

Oil futures were mixed Thursday, with the global benchmark getting a lift as Saudi Arabia halted crude shipments through a Red Sea waterway after accusing Iran-allied rebels of attacking a pair of tankers. September Brent crude futures rose 41 cents, or 0.6%, to $74.34 a barrel. The September West Texas Intermediate crude edged 3 cents higher to $69.33 a barrel.

New orders for key U.S.-made capital goods increased more than expected in June and shipments surged, pointing to solid growth in business spending on equipment in the second quarter. The Commerce Department said orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft rose 0.6 percent last month after an upwardly revised 0.7 percent increase in May.

Music streaming leader Spotify’s (SPOT) paid subscriptions rose 10 percent in the second quarter, thanks to family plans that attracted new users and kept them loyal as the Swedish company races to stay ahead of Apple Music (AAPL).Spotify said on Thursday it had 83 million paid subscriptions at the end of June, slightly ahead of the 82 million expected on average by analysts in a Reuters poll.

United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) said Thursday that it will acquire SuperValu Inc. (SVU)  for $32.50 per share in cash, or about $2.9 billion, including debt and liabilities.