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Investing.com — U.S. stock markets opened with fresh selling on Thursday, after a rise in initial jobless claims reinforced worries about the economic outlook.
By 9:40 AM (1340 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 195 points, or 0.7%, at 26,569 points, its lowest since early August. The S&P 500 was down 0.9% and the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.0% on the day and now down nearly 13% from its last all-time high at the start of this month.
The declines came after the Bureau Labor Statistics said initial jobless claims edged up to 870,000 from an upwardly-revised 866,000 last week, disappointing hopes for another modest decline.
“The momentum in the labor market is stalling,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist with Pantheon Macroeconomics, in emailed comments.. “Consumers’ spending – nearly 70% of the economy – can’t continue to increase at its recent pace in the aftermath of the ending of enhanced unemployment benefits, and the latest upturn in Covid cases and hospitalizations – up yesterday for the third straight day – threatens to trigger renewed restrictions on economic activity.”
Shepherdson said “the need for further fiscal action is obvious, but we no longer expect any meaningful relief bill until February.”
