WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday, extending the pullback seen over the two previous sessions. The major averages continue to give back ground after ending Monday's session at record closing highs.
The major averages have climbed off their worst levels after an initial slump but remain in negative territory. The Nasdaq is down 149.10 points or 0.7 percent at 22,348.75, the S&P 500 is down 38.78 points or 0.6 percent at 6,599.19 and the Dow is down 110.26 points or 0.2 percent at 46,011.02.
The continued weakness on Wall Street partly reflects ongoing concerns about the near-term outlook for the artificial intelligence trade.
AI player Oracle (ORCL) is tumbling by 4.0 percent on the day, although shares of Nvidia (NVDA) are regaining ground after moving notably lower over the two previous sessions.
Renewed uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates may also be weighing on the markets following the release of some upbeat U.S. economic data.
A report released by the Labor Department unexpectedly showed an extended pullback by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended September 20th.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to 218,000, a decrease of 14,000 from the previous week's revised level of 232,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 235,000.
Jobless claims pulled back further off the nearly four-year high set in the first week of September, falling to their lowest level since hitting 217,000 in the week ended July 19th.
The Commerce Department also released separate reports showing an unexpected surge by durable goods orders in August as well as much stronger than previously estimated GDP growth in the second quarter.
'The Fed's September dot plot indicated that additional rate cuts are likely at their next two decisions in late October and December, but the case for back-to-back cuts is no slam dunk,' said Bill Adams, Chief Economist for Comerica Bank.
On Friday, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release its report on personal income and spending in August, which includes the Fed's preferred readings on consumer price inflation.
Sector News
Pharmaceutical stocks are turning in some of the market's worst performances on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index down by 1.6 percent to its lowest intraday level in over a month.
Considerable weakness is also visible among healthcare stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent loss being posted by the Dow Jones U.S. Health Care Index. The index has also fallen to a one-month low.
Biotechnology, computer hardware and airline stocks are also seeing notable weakness, moving lower along with most of the other major sectors.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region closed narrowly mixed on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index closed just below the unchanged line and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged down by 0.1 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 0.6 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.4 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.3 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are seeing continued weakness following the upbeat U.S. economic data. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 4.2 basis points at 4.189 percent.
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