WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have moved sharply lower during trading on Thursday, adding to the modest losses posted in the previous session. The major averages have all shown notable moves to the downside, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq showing a particularly steep drop.
Currently, the Nasdaq is just off its lows of the session, down 566.81 points or 2.2 percent at 25,124.09. The S&P 500 is down 87.34 points or 1.2 percent at 7,411.62 and the Dow is down 499.20 points or 1 percent at 51,719.38.
The sell-off on Wall Street partly reflects a negative reaction to earnings news from tech giants Tesla (TSLA) and Alphabet (GOOGL).
Electric vehicle maker Tesla is plummeting by 13.4 percent after reporting weaker than expected second quarter earnings along with a surge in capital spending.
Shares of Alphabet are also tumbling by 7 percent after the Google parent reported better than expected second quarter results but raised its capital spending forecast.
Selling pressure has also been generated in reaction to a sharp increase by the price of crude oil, with U.S. crude oil futures soaring by nearly 6 percent and jumping back above $90 a barrel.
The spike by crude oil prices comes after Yemen's Houthis claimed they had attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea for violating their maritime blockade.
President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the U.S. would hold Iran responsible if the militant group continues the attacks.
In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly decreased in the week ended July 18th.
The report said initial jobless claims fell to 187,000, a decrease of 22,000 from the previous week's revised level of 209,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 212,000 from the 208,000 originally reported for the previous week.
With the unexpected decrease, jobless claims dropped to their lowest level since hitting 182,000 in the week ended September 6, 1969.
Sector News
Airline stocks have moved sharply lower on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 3.8 percent to its lowest intraday level in well over a month.
American Airlines (AAL) has helped lead the sector, plummeting by 7.3 percent after reporting better than expected second quarter results but cutting its full-year profit outlook.
Substantial weakness is also visible among retail stocks, with the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index plunging by 2.7 percent to a three-month intraday low.
Software, gold and housing stocks are also seeing considerable weakness, while energy stocks are moving to the upside along with the price of crude oil.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.5 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped by 1.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 1.6 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 1.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.8 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are seeing notable weakness, extending a recent downward trend. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 4.8 basis points at 4.705 percent.
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