US stocks opened lower on Thursday after data showed weekly jobless claims increased more than projected and tensions remained high in the Middle East.
The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average opened 0.23%, or nearly 100 points lower, to 42,099, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.35% to 17,862.
The S&P 500 slid 0.3% to 5,697. Nine of the 11 sectoral indices were trading in red, led by declines in materials and consumer discretionary, with only information technology and utilities edging higher.
Among major companies, shares of chipmakers Nvidia, AMD and Super Micro Computer jumped 3%.
Initial claims increased by 6,000 to 225,000 in the week ended Sept. 28. The median forecast in a survey of economists called for 221,000 applications, Bloomberg News reported. The data offers hints into the health of the US labour market as markets gear up for September’s closely watched payroll report due on Friday morning.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond rose 3 basis points to 3.81%.
The US dollar strengthened against major currencies. The Bloomberg Dollar Index gained 0.3% to 101.94. The British Pound fell as much as 1.3% against the greenback after Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey hinted at faster policy easing.
Spot gold prices plunged 0.7% to $2,641 an ounce.
The escalation in the Middle East amid the Israel-Iran and Israel-Hezbollah conflict kept the upward pressure on oil prices. US crude futures rose nearly 3% to $72.14 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude advanced 2.6% to $75.86.
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