NEW YORK, June 20 -- U.S. stocks ended mixed on Thursday, as investors of big tech shares took some profits.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 299.90 points, or 0.77 percent, to 39,134.76. The S&P 500 pulled back after briefly passing the 5,500 level for the first time ever, down 13.86 points, or 0.25 percent, to 5,473.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 140.65 points, or 0.79 percent, to 17,721.59.

Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in green, with energy and utilities leading the gainers by going up 1.86 percent and 0.89 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, technology and real estate led the laggards by dropping 1.60 percent and 0.25 percent, respectively.

"S&P 500 pulls back as tech stocks decline amid profit-taking. Most market segments gained ground in today's trading session, but the pullback in tech stocks put pressure on S&P 500," said Vladimir Zernov, analyst with market information supplier FX Empire.

The S&P 500 Index faced resistance in the 5,520-5,530 range and moved below the 5,500 level, added Zernov.

Both housing starts and building permits in the United States dropped sharply in May to their lowest levels since mid-2020, according to data released on Thursday.

Housing starts declined 5.5 percent to an annualized rate of 1.277 million last month, following a 4.1 percent increase to a revised 1.352 million in April. Building permits also fell 3.8 percent to 1.386 million, down from 1.440 million, surprising economists who had expected a rise to 1.450 million.

"Housing starts were weaker than expected in May and softness in building permits and deteriorating homebuilder sentiment indicate that starts will continue to be depressed in the near term," said Nancy Vanden Houten, the U.S. lead economist at Oxford Economics.

On the corporate front, Nvidia declined 3.54 percent Thursday after rising earlier in the session. The chipmaker temporarily unseated Microsoft as the most valuable public company on Tuesday. Shares have climbed more than 160 percent this year as the AI boom continues to boost equities, even as consumers show signs of slowing spending.

  - Xinhua