US Stock Market Overview – Stocks Close Mixed; Dow Drop and Nasdaq Continue to Rally

US Stocks were lower on Thursday with the Dow Jones Industrial average underperforming. Most sectors in the S&P 500 index were lower led down by Real-estate, while Energy bucked the trend. Crude oil prices rebounded approximately 2% giving a boost to the energy patch. Jobless claims were higher than expected, but that failed to derail a rebound in the dollar. Spotify shares surged following an announcement from the company that they signed an exclusive deal with Kim Kardashian. Facebook announced that it took down a post from The Presidential Campaign of Donald Trump.

Jobless Claims Rise More than Expected

US jobless claims totaled 1.5 million last week, higher than the 1.3 million expected. The government report’s total was 58,000 lower than the previous week’s 1.56 million, which was revised up by 24,000. Continuing claims, or those who have been receiving unemployment benefits for at least two weeks, nudged lower to 20.5 million, a decline of 62,000 from the previous week. The total of those receiving benefits was 29.1 million as of May 30. That was a decrease of 375,522 from the previous week.

Podcasts Continue to Generate Gains

Spotify shares surged more than 12% following news that the company signed a podcast deal with reality TV star Kim Kardashian West. Additionally, Spotify announced that it has a new partnership with DC and Warner Bros. to exclusively produce and distribute podcasts featuring popular comic book characters.

Facebook Takes on Trump Campaign

Facebook reported that the social media giant took down a campaign posts and ads for President Trump, citing violations of the company’s policy against what it called organized hate. The ads, featuring a downward-pointing triangle, targeted antifa, describing the movement as “Dangerous MOBS of far-left groups.” The inverted red triangle is a marking Nazis used to designate political prisoners in concentration camps, according to the Anti-Defamation League.