Stocks Ended Lower as Tech Shares Led Slide

U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday, with a slide in tech shares leading the way, after data showed weekly jobless claims unexpectedly climbed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 353.51 points, or 1.31%, to 26,652.33. The S&P 500 fell 40.36 points, or 1.23%, to 3,235.66. The Nasdaq Composite declined 244.71 points, or 2.29%, to 10,461.42.

Oil futures settled lower Thursday, extending a decline seen the previous session after data showed an unexpected rise in U.S. crude inventories. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery fell 83 cents, or 2%, to settle at $41.07 a barrel, while September Brent crude lost 98 cents, or 2.2%, at $43.31 a barrel.

The level of new jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week. Another 1.416 million Americans filed for first-time unemployment insurance benefits, up from just over 1.3 million the prior week, to mark the first increase in new claims on a week over week basis since March.