US STOCKS-Wall St ends lower as tech struggles resume

* Energy stocks drop as oil prices slide
* Weekly jobless claims stuck at higher levels
* Apple, Microsoft, Amazon lower

(Updates to market close, adds analyst comment)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Sept 10 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed lower after
a choppy trading session on Thursday as heavyweight tech-related
stocks resumed their decline following a sharp rebound the
previous session, while elevated jobless claims reminded
investors of a still-difficult recovery ahead.
Names that have rallied since March lows, such as Apple Inc
AAPL.O , Microsoft Corp MSFT.O and Amazon.com AMZN.O , all
fell.
Tesla Inc TSLA.O rose slightly, initially helping to limit
the Nasdaq's losses before the tech-heavy index's slide widened.
The NYSE FANG+TM Index .NYFANG , which includes the core
FAANG stocks, also fell, and all 11 sectors of the S&P 500
traded lower.
Wall Street's main indexes bounced back sharply on Wednesday
from their biggest three-day rout since March, as investors
returned to tech-focused stocks that are deemed insulated from
the current economic downturn.
The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment
benefits remained high last week, Labor Department data showed,
as layoffs and furloughs persisted across industries.
In addition, the U.S. Senate on Thursday killed a Republican
bill that would have provided around $300 billion in new
coronavirus aid, as Democrats seeking far more funding prevented
it from advancing. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in an interview
with Fox News the electoral outcome for control of the Senate
could go either way. "It's more of this sort of stew of stuff than has come
together than any one particular thing you can point to, and
maybe most importantly you are looking at an extended market,"
said Stephen Massocca, senior vice president at Wedbush
Securities in San Francisco.
"This thing has had a massive move so the line of least
resistance might be to correct a little bit."
Massocca cited election uncertainty and the length of time
it may take the economy to fully reopen due to the coronavirus
pandemic.
Unofficially the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell
406.29 points, or 1.45%, to 27,534.18, the S&P 500 .SPX lost
60.07 points, or 1.77%, to 3,338.89 and the Nasdaq Composite
.IXIC dropped 221.97 points, or 1.99%, to 10,919.59.
The S&P tech index .SPLRCT was one of the weaker
performers on Thursday afternoon. Despite the recent pullback,
the tech index is up about 24% in 2020, far outperforming the
benchmark S&P 500's rise of 3.5% in the same period.
Many market participants view the sell-off as a bout of
turbulence rather than the start of a deeper slide. The CBOE volatility index .VIX climbed on Thursday. The
index hit a near three-month high at the start of a historically
tumultuous September. Investors have also remained cautious as
data paints a mixed picture of U.S. economic health.
A separate report showed U.S. producer prices rose slightly
more than expected in August as the cost of services increased
solidly. Energy stocks .SPNY dropped as oil prices extended losses
after U.S. data showed a surprise build in crude stockpiles last
week and on forecasts for lower global oil demand. O/R