04:08 PM EST, 02/27/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes ended lower Thursday as investors weighed a surge in jobless claims alongside Nvidia's ( NVDA ) "smallest" revenue beat in two years and President Donald Trump's plan to impose import levies on three of the country's biggest trading partners.

* Trump said his administration would press ahead with import duties on Mexico and Canada next week. China would likewise get a 10% additional tariff from the same day, he said in a message on Truth Social. Mexico and Canada face 25% tariffs from March 4, with the latter likely to be hit with a 10% duty on energy exports to the US.

* US initial jobless claims rose to 242,000 in the week that ended Feb. 22 from an upwardly revised 220,000, beating forecasts for 221,000 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. The four-week moving average increased by 8,500 to 224,000, the US Department of Labor said Thursday.

* April West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed up $1.60 to settle at $70.22 per barrel, while April Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen up $1.39 to $73.92 after Trump rescinded Chevron's ( CVX ) license to export Venezuelan crude oil.

* Chevron's ( CVX ) cancelled license to operate in Venezuela could result in a new agreement between the company and state-owned oil firm PDVSA to export crude to non-US destinations, Reuters reported Thursday, citing sources close to the talks. Shares rose 1.3%.

* Nvidia ( NVDA ) reported higher fiscal Q4 results overnight that beat analyst estimates. Shares, nevertheless, slid nearly 8%.

* Though Nvidia surpassed consensus, a modest beat and nothing major in terms of guidance meant the report failed to live up to the hype accompanying the chip giant's earnings over the past two years, according to a note from Deutsche Bank. "Indeed, it was the smallest revenue beat in two years, so that was underwhelming for investors used to much bigger upside surprises." Looking forward, sales guidance for the current quarter was "a little above the average estimate."