US close: Stocks close lower as trade news and whistleblower complaint remain in focus

US stocks closed lower on Thursday following the release of a whistleblower complaint against Donald Trump.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.30% at 26,891.12, while the S&P 500 was 0.24% weaker at 2,977.62 and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.58% softer at 8,030.66.

The Dow closed 79.59 points lower after seeing out the previous session on a high when Trump suggested that a trade deal with China could be closer than markets were anticipating.

While Trump's comments indicating a potential end to Beijing and Washington's tit-for-tariff war drove futures higher ahead of the bell, investors quickly turned their attention to an official whistleblower complaint and the impeachment inquiry launched by the House of Representatives in relation to a call between the president and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky.

A transcript of the conversation revealed Trump asked Zelensky to "look into" Vice President Joe Biden's son but did not explicitly promise any form of quid pro quo for his efforts.

The whistleblower claimed Trump abused his position in the Oval Office to solicit interference from a foreign country ahead of the 2020 election, raising more questions about the president's political future.

But despite all the turmoil in the White House, stocks didn't hit their session lows until Bloomberg News reported that the US was unlikely to extend a temporary waiver that allowed American firms to sell supplies to Chinese telco giant Huawei.

However, indices did pick up some steam after China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said the US had shown goodwill by waiving tariffs and stated China was willing to buy more American products.

On the data front, US economic growth in the second quarter was in line with expectations, according to figures released by the US Department of Commerce.

Gross domestic product grew at an annual pace of 2% from April to June, unchanged from the previous estimate.

Elsewhere, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose a little more than expected last week, according to figures released by the Department for Labor.

Initial jobless claims increased by 3,000 from the previous week's revised level to 213,000, coming in above expectations for a level of 212,000. The previous week's level was revised up by 2,000 from 208,000.

Lastly, US pending home sales rose more than expected in August, according to data released by the National Association of Realtors.

The NAR's monthly index increased 1.6% to 107.3, beating expectations for a 0.9% jump. On the year, the index was up 2.5%.

In corporate news, Beyond Meat shares closed 11.58% higher after the plant-based food producer announced the trial of a new collaboration product with McDonald's, while Carnival shares sunk 8.75% in the session after the group scuttled earnings guidance for both the last quarter of the current trading year and the whole of the next.

Micron Technology shares dropped 6.79% following the release of its latest quarterly figures after the close.