U.S. stocks end mixed amid earnings, data

U.S. stocks closed mixed for a third straight day Thursday, as investors digested big company quarterly earnings and economic reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 15.82 points, or 0.09 percent, to 18,456.35. The S&P 500 added 3.48 points, or 0.16 percent, to 2,170.06. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 15.17 points, or 0.30 percent, to 5,154.98.

Shares of Facebook, Inc. increased 1.35 percent to 125.00 U.S. dollars apiece Thursday after the U.S. tech giant delivered better-than-expected quarterly results.

Shares of Ford Motor Co. plummeted 8.24 percent to 12.70 dollars apiece Thursday following the release of the U.S. carmaker's disappointing quarterly earnings.

The latest data from Thomson Reuters showed that the S&P 500 companies' blended earnings in the second quarter of 2016 are expected to decrease 3.0 percent year on year, while the revenues are forecast to decline 0.1 percent.

On the economic front, in the week ending July 23, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 266,000, an increase of 14,000 from the previous week's revised level, the U.S. Labor Department announced Thursday.

The 4-week moving average was 256,500, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised average.

Meanwhile, the U.S. international trade deficit was 63.3 billion U.S. dollars in June, up 2.2 billion dollars from 61.1 billion dollars in May, the Commerce Department announced Thursday.

Oil prices were also in focus, which touched three-month lows Thursday after data showed U.S. crude stockpiles gained unexpectedly. Enditem