Wall Street ends mostly lower on trade concerns, energy losses

US stock indices closed the fourth session of the week mixed but mostly higher after erasing the modest gains made earlier in the session, with the energy sector's losses outweighing the tech sector's profits in Dow Jones, Standard and Poor's 500. 

US Labor, Inflation Data 

Earlier US data showed producer prices were unchanged in July, compared to a 0.3% increase in June, and missing estimates of 0.2%. 

Core prices, excluding food and energy, rose 0.1%, while those excluding trade services as well rose 0.3%, indicating solid momentum in the economy. 

US unemployment claims fell surprisingly by 6 thousand to 213 thousand from 219K, beating expectations of an increase to 220K.

Continuing claims for the week ending July 28 rose 29 thousand to 1.755 million from 1.726 million, missing expectations of 1.730 million. 

The final reading for business inventories rose 0.1% in June, compared to no-change in in the preliminary reading, and improving from a 0.6% surge in May.

Accumulated inventories indicate poor demand and are considered a negative sign for the economy. 

Indices, Commodities 

Dow Jones shed 0.29%, or 74.52 points to 25,509.23, while Standard and Poor's 500 inched down 0.14%, or 4.12 points to 2,853.58. NASDAQ Composite added 0.04%, or 3.46 points to 7,891.78.

Gold futures due in December inched down 0.11% to $1,219.70 an ounce, while the dollar index climbed 0.54% to 95.60 against an array of main currencies, marking July 19 highs. 

US crude futures due in September slipped 0.31% to $66.73 a barrel, while Brent October futures dipped 0.40% to $71.99 a barrel.