The Dow Jones dropped nearly 200 points on Thursday morning following the release of the latest jobless claims data, which showed a slight uptick. In addition to the labor data, persistent tensions in the Middle East and an ongoing port strike have fueled fears of inflationary pressures.
According to data released by the Labor Department, seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims rose to 225,000 for the week ending September 28, up from a revised figure of 219,000 the previous week. The increase slightly exceeded the expectations of economists, who had forecasted 222,000 claims.
This report will be followed by the U.S. employment report on Friday, which includes key metrics such as the unemployment rate and changes in hourly wages, which will help gauge the overall health of the labor market.
Shortly after the market opened Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 195 points, or 0.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 0.1%, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.4%. Oil prices continued to rise as West Texas Intermediate and Brent surged nearly 2.5% and 2.2%, respectively, in morning trading. Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury yield rose slightly to 3.8%.
AI stocks climb while healthcare struggles
Despite the decline across major indexes, AI stocks surged Wednesday morning. Nvidia (NVDA), Super Micro Computer (SMCI), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Micron Technology (MU), and Palantir Technologies (PLTR) were among the top-performing stocks, posting gains of 4%, 4.3%, 3.2%, and 2.7%, respectively.
Meanwhile, healthcare stocks like Universal Health Services (UHS) and Humana (HUM) were among the weaker performers Thursday morning, declining by 2.8% and 2%, respectively.