Thursday’s session ended well into red territory. Consumer and energy brands led the descent. Stocks traded lower on concern that the Federal Reserve plans to curtail bond buying, in light of comments released yesterday. A variety of economic news may have impacted action as well. Initial jobless claims ticked up last week. The Labor Department said new claims increased by 18,000 to a greater-than-expected 354,000. Economists were expecting a lesser climb to 340,000. Meanwhile, existing home sales stepped up in May. A National Association of Realtors report showed purchases increased by 4.2 percent to a 5.18 million annualized rate. On another note, the Conference Board’s index of leading indicators, which gauges the outlook for the next three to six months, rose 0.1 percent in May, following an upwardly revised 0.8 percent gain in April. Economists, on average, were expecting a 0.2 percent upswing. Elsewhere, crude oil futures shed $3.34 today to settle at $95.14 a barrel.
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