Wall Street Turns Red after a New Jump in U. S. Jobless Claims

Wall Street fell after disappointing jobs data, ignoring improvement in retail sales, as investors weigh mixed signals in the latest U.S. economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 200 points and moved down 0.5%, coinciding with weekly jobless claims that rose and August’s retail sales unexpected jump.

The S&P 500 declined and lost 0.6%, while Nasdaq traded down 0.6% in early trade.

Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits rose in early September one week after falling to a pandemic low, but the increase partly stemmed from Hurricane Ida and is likely to prove temporary.

Initial jobless benefit claims rose 20,000 to 332,000 in the week ended Sept. 11, the government said Thursday. Estimated new claims would amount to 318,000. U.S. retail sales rose in August, a sign of the economic recovery’s resilience despite the Delta variant.