Stocks Ended Lower, Oil Prices Fell

U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday, after data showed that new jobless claims declined by a smaller than expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 135.39 points, or 0.50%, to 26,734.71. The S&P 500 fell 10.99 points, or 0.34%, to 3,215.57. The Nasdaq Composite declined 76.66 points, or 0.73%, to 10,473.83.

Oil futures ended lower Thursday. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery fell 45 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $40.75 a barrel, while September Brent crude lost 42 cents, or 1%, at $43.37 a barrel.

Netflix Inc (NFLX) reported 10.1 million new subscribers in the second quarter on Thursday. The company reported net earnings of $720 million, or $1.59 a share, compared with net income of $270.7 million, or 60 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue improved to $6.15 billion from $4.92 billion a year ago.