US benchmark equity indexes were lower on Thursday after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite touched intraday records before retreating as markets reacted to an increase in the core PCE price index and a rise in initial jobless claims.

* The core personal consumption expenditures price index, which the Federal Reserve uses to track inflation and excludes food and energy costs, rose 0.3% in June after a 0.2% increase in May, keeping the annual rate steady at 2.8%.

* Initial jobless claims increased to 218,000 for the week ended July 26, up from 217,000 a week earlier, the Labor Department reported. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had expected 224,000 claims. The slight rise came after six consecutive weeks of declines.

* September West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell $0.83 to settle at $69.17 per barrel, while September Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $0.71 to $72.53.

* EBay (EBAY) shares were up more than 18% after the company reported Q2 non-GAAP earnings and revenue that beat analysts' expectations.

* Align Technology (ALGN) shares were down roughly 37% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to equal weight from overweight and slashed its price target to $154 from $249, while other analysts also lowered their targets, including HSBC to $140 from $180, Stifel to $200 from $275, and Piper Sandler to $190 from $250.