
On Thursday, December 5th, U.S. markets closed lower as tech shares eased and UnitedHealth’s sharp decline weighed on major indexes. Synopsys and health insurance stocks fell amid weaker forecasts and uncertainty following UnitedHealth’s CEO’s murder. Investors await Friday’s jobs report amid rising unemployment claims.
In economic data, U.S. jobless claims rose to 224,000 last week, exceeding expectations of 215,000. The trade deficit narrowed to $73.8 billion in October, beating market estimates of $75 billion and improving from September’s $83.8 billion gap.