Major US indexes erased early gains and declined on Thursday after traders looked past positive jobless claims data and grew more concerned about the US’s coronavirus resurgence.
Unemployment-insurance claims last week totaled 1.3 million, the Labor Department announced Thursday, down 99,000 from the week before. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected a reading of 1.38 million.
US virus cases surpassed 3 million on Wednesday, prompting new concerns of a longer-than-expected recession. Stocks turned lower after Florida, the nation’s virus hotspot, reported a record in COVID hospitalizations. Coronavirus deaths also jumped a record amount.
Here’s where US indexes stood at 11:15 a.m. ET on Thursday:
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Walgreens shares led the Dow lower. The drugstore chain plummeted after reporting a $1.7 billion loss in the third quarter. Adjusted earnings per share also missed expectations, landing at 83 cents to analysts’ $1.19.
Oil prices slid. West Texas Intermediate crude fell as much as 4%, to $39.27 per barrel. Brent crude, oil’s international benchmark, fell 3.1%, to $41.93 per barrel, at intraday lows.
Investors have largely looked through a spike in US coronavirus cases and pushed equity prices higher over the week. Stocks gained on Wednesday as a tech rally overshadowed falling travel stocks. Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet all turned higher through the session, and Apple reached an all-time high.
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