US Stock Markets Today: S&P 500, Nasdaq, Dow Jones Open Lower As Inflation, Unemployment Data Weigh In

All three main Wall Street indices opened in the red on Thursday, with Microsoft Corp. and Meta Platforms Inc. significantly impacting Wall Street trading following their disappointing outlooks. The S&P 500 was down 0.75% at 5,770.20 points at the opening bell and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slumped 0.99% to 18,423.68.

The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average opened 0.58% lower at 41,897.57.

The latest Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, released Thursday, indicated that inflation increased in line with expectations, edging closer to the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. The PCE is the Fed's favoured measure of inflation.

This PCE data, combined with the October payroll report set to be released on Friday, will guide the Fed's interest rate decision during its two-day policy meeting concluding on Nov. 7.

Applications for US unemployment benefits dropped last week to their lowest level since May as southeastern states continued to recover from the effects of two severe storms. Initial claims fell by 12,000 to 216,000 for the week ending Oct. 26.

Among major stocks, Visa Inc. was up 1.42%, Walt Disney Co. 1.22% and Verizon Communications Inc. 1.16%. Among the companies that slipped in early trade were Microsoft Corp., which declined 5.07% and Intel Corp., which was down 2.40%.

Among the 11 S&P 500 sectoral indices, four were trading higher, whereas seven slipped against the previous day's close. The gains were led by energy and utilities, whereas information technology and consumer discretionary sectors were among the drags.