Stocks ended little changed on Thursday, with the S&P 500 touching a record high, as investors considered upbeat earnings from Ford and Facebook and jobless claims hit their lowest in more than eight years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished unofficially 2 points down and the Nasdaq was 1 point lower. But the S&P 500, which closed at a record high on Wednesday, rose less than one point to a new high. Facebook shares rose 5 percent after the social network trounced estimates for quarterly profit and revenue. Ford shares rose after the auto manufacturer reported second-quarter results. But General Motors stock fell 4 percent after the car maker reported a lower-than-expected second-quarter profit as a result of a recent batch of recalls. Also pushing the markets was the government's weekly jobless report that showed claims came in at 284,000 last week, less than the 308,000 estimated by analysts and the lowest in over eight years.
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IN DEPTH
- Weekly Jobless Claims Fall to Lowest Level in More Than 8 Years
- GM Profit Slammed by Recall Costs, Compensation Fund
- Atlantic City Gets 'Junk' Downgrade from Moody's
- Kate Gibson, CNBC.com
