Stocks close mixed as Facebook gets slammed

Stocks were mixed Thursday after Facebook took a historic tumble post-earnings and as markets digested the possibility of cooling trade tensions between the US and the European Union. The dollar and Treasury yields jumped ahead of US GDP data out Friday.

Here's the scoreboard:

Dow Jones industrial average: 25,528.79 +114.69 (+0.45%)

S&P 500: 2,836.86 −9.21 (-0.32%)

1. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker agreed to work toward resolving a multi-billion dollar trade dispute. But analysts remain cautious.
2. The European Central Bank held its benchmark rate unchanged at a policy meeting. The ECB's decision to maintain a rate of -0.4% comes in contrast to a Federal Reserve that looks poised to hike two more times this year, driving a larger wedge between the monetary policies of the two largest central banks in the world.
3. The US goods trade deficit jumped 5.5% in June to $68.3 billion. It had narrowed in April and May as foreign markets stocked up on American goods that were about to be hit by tariffs. Separate data out Thursday showed new orders for durable goods increased by a less-than-expected 1% last month.
4. Facebook posts the largest drop in stock-market history. The social media giant shed $120 billion in market cap after it reported slowing growth Wednesday.

And a look at the upcoming economic calendar:

• Amazon reports earnings after the bell; Twitter is out at the end of the week.
• US GDP numbers are out.

See also:

Goldman Sachs breaks down the damage a trade war could cause in the stock market and 2 ways investors can protect themselves

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