Stocks Ended Mostly Lower ahead of Earnings

U.S. stocks ended mostly lower on Thursday as investors look ahead to the beginning of earnings season. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 14.11 points, or 0.05%, to 26,143.05. The S&P 500 edged up 0.11 point, to 2,888.32. The Nasdaq Composite fell 16.88 points, or 0.21%, to 7,947.36.

Oil futures finished lower Thursday, as a monthly report from an international agency warned that a slowdown in global economic growth could hurt demand for crude. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery lost $1.04, or 1.6%, to settle at $63.58 a barrel. June Brent lost 95 cents, or 1.3%, to $70.78 a barrel.

Ride sharing behemoth Uber filed paperwork with regulators to go public on Thursday, after rival Lyft became the first to tap the markets in what is shaping up to be a banner year for technology initial public offerings.