U.S. stocks closed lower Thursday, but a few favorites among short sellers surged following upbeat earnings reports. In U.S. economic news, after a solid monthly jobs report last week, the U.S. government said that initial jobless claims dropped further than expected to 323,000 last week. That was the lowest weekly tally in five years, signaling that layoffs are back to pre-recession levels. In corporate news, Tesla rallied after the electric car maker delivered its first ever profit and topped sales estimates. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters shares jumped after the company reported better-than-expected earnings and announced plans to extend its partnership with Starbucks. Groupon shares rose sharply after the daily deal site reported a narrower loss compared to a year earlier. Shares of Monster Beverage tumbled after the company's quarterly earnings missed estimates. The energy drink maker, which has been criticized for marketing its highly caffeinated products to children, blamed the drop in earnings on legal costs and other short-term factors. DISH Network released quarterly results before the opening bell, showing a decline in sales and profit. Shares edged lower. News Corp. shares jumped after the media conglomerate said sales rose in the first quarter and reported earnings that met expectations. The dollar rose against the euro, the pound, and the yen. Light sweet crude oil for June delivery dropped 23 cents to $96.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold futures lost $5.10 to $1,468.60 an ounce. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 22.5, or 0.15 percent, to 15,082.62. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 6.02, or 0.37 percent, to 1,626.67. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index lost 4.10, or 0.12 percent, to 3,409.17.
