U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, with major indexes declining broadly as the latest round of earnings failed to extend a recent rally. However, stocks closed off their lows of the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.51% fell 0.3% to 24,665.89. The S&P 500 SPX, +1.05% lost 0.6% to 2,69.13. Both held above their 50-day moving average despite dipping below it during the trading day; this level is seen as a gauge of an asset price's short-term momentum trends. The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +1.71% fell 0.8% to 7,238.06. The day's losses were widespread, with nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors ending lower on the day. Seeing particular weakness were the tech and the consumer-staples sectors. Staples were pressured by weak results from Philip Morris PM, -1.07% and an acquisition at Procter & Gamble PG, +0.91% , while tech's decline was largely due to the semiconductor sector. On the upside, financial stocks rose 1.5%, supported by a rise in the 10-year U.S. Treasury Note's yield, as well as by some strong results, including from American Express Co. AXP, +0.31% and Bank of New York Mellon BK, -1.44% . Helping stocks in the final hour of trading was a Bloomberg report that President Donald Trump had been told he wasn't a target of special counsel Robert Mueller's probe, news that seemed to lessen some of the political uncertainty swirling around markets.