US open: Dow opens down over 200 points amid mixed bag of economic data

US stocks plunged early on Thursday, as investors digested a mixed bag of economic data, while oil prices continued to fall.

Just after 1500 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 219 points to 17,129.69 while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq fell 19 and 52 points respectively

Wall Street closed lower on Wednesday, after the release of the minutes from the latest Federal Open Market Committee’s latest meeting showed that while a September hike remained on the cards, a number of policymakers believe inflation is too low to take action.

“The disappointing data on current wages and prices released over the past couple of weeks, including the most recent declines in commodity prices, may not be pivotal in the decision next month,” said Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics.

“In particular, Fed officials were apparently suspicious of the first-quarter pick-up in the employment cost index, so the second-quarter weakness won't be a game changer.”

Thursday data

US jobless claims unexpectedly rose to 227,000 in the week to 15 August from 273,000 the previous week, the Labor Department revealed on Thursday.

The figure missed analysts' estimates for 272,000 jobless claims last week.

"Taken together, the details of this morning’s report support our view that labor market slack has continued to decline," analysts at Barclays said in a note.

There was more positive news from the Philadelphia Fed, which said its index rose to 8.3 in August from 5.7 in July, compared with expectations for a 7.0 reading.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales rose 2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.59m, a post-recession high.

Elsewhere, European stocks extended losses, weighed by weakness in the oil and gas sector and worries about China, as investors digested the latest minutes from the Federal Reserve, while shares in Asian markets fell throughout the region following concerns over growth in China.

Oil prices continued to slump, with West Texas Intermediate losing 0.58% to $41.03 a barrel, while Brent shed 1.31% to $46.55 a barrel.

The dollar was flat against the yen but climbed 0.21% against the pound and shed 0.41% against the euro, while gold futures jumped 1.66% to 1,146.60.

The earnings season continues with Gap, Hewlett-Packard and Salesforce.com on tap after the close.