US open: Stocks firmly lower as jobless claims disappoint

Wall Street stocks were firmly in the red early on Thursday as market participants monitored developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and digested a number of data points at the open.

As of 1540 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.36% at 34,458.60, while the S&P 500 was 1.41% weaker at 4,411.95 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 1.61% softer at 13,897.14.

The Dow opened 475.67 points lower on Thursday, extending losses recorded in the previous session as investors thumbed over minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent meeting.

Thursday's primary focus will be this week's jobless claims report from the Labor Department, which showed the number of Americans filing first-time unemployment claims registered their sharpest increase in four weeks, well ahead of market expectations for a print of 219,000. Initial jobless claims increased by 23,000 to 248,000 in the week ended 12 February, according to the Labor Department, while the four-week moving average decreased by 10,500 to 243,250 and continuing claims printed at 1.59m.

Elsewhere on the macro front, factory activity in the US mid-Atlantic region slowed a little in February, the results of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's manufacturing index revealed, with the headline index slipping from a reading of 23.2 for the month before to 16.0. Economists had been anticipating a smaller decline to 22.0.

Also in data news, housing starts fell 4.1% month-on-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.63m in January, well below forecasts of 1.7m for the lowest print in three months as pandemic-related labour shortages, high material costs and supply constraints persisted. Building permits, on the other hand, rose 0.7% from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.89m, the highest since May 2006 and above market expectations of 1.76m.

Ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine also continued to weigh on market sentiment after NATO officials accused Moscow of misleading the world and actually raising troop numbers at the border despite claims that it had removed a number of troops from the area.

Russia expressed caution regarding disturbances in eastern Ukraine and stated it would take its time to pull back troops from the border. It also expelled the deputy chief of a US diplomatic mission in Moscow on Thursday.

In the corporate space, US retail giant Walmart lifted its dividend on Thursday as it said it swung to a profit in the fourth quarter. The company swung to a net profit of $3.6bn from a loss of $2.9bn in the same period a year ago, when it was hit by Covid-related costs. Revenue rose 0.5% to $152.9m and adjusted earnings per share were $1.53 during the quarter, coming in $0.03 ahead of analyst expectations.

Still to come, Dropbox, Roku and Shake Shack will report after the close.

Dow Jones - Risers

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $56.26 3.70%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $136.61 2.31%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $158.27 0.16%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $30.52 0.00%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $230.94 0.00%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $349.75 -0.10%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $60.78 -0.19%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $53.06 -0.65%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $171.08 -0.85%
Visa Inc. (V) $226.84 -0.87%

Dow Jones - Fallers

3M Co. (MMM) $149.60 -3.87%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $205.61 -2.90%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $351.69 -2.32%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $126.31 -2.22%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $199.66 -1.95%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $46.95 -1.94%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $152.06 -1.90%
Boeing Co. (BA) $214.82 -1.88%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $293.92 -1.86%
American Express Co. (AXP) $195.04 -1.68%

S&P 500 - Risers

Hasbro Inc (HAS) $103.29 6.44%
Equinix, Inc. (EQIX) $703.15 4.39%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $56.26 3.70%
Marathon Oil Corp. (MRO) $21.78 3.37%
Digital Realty Trust (DLR) $138.71 3.05%
Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) $55.42 2.91%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $136.61 2.31%
Newmont Corporation (NEM) $65.72 2.25%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $37.21 1.60%
J. M. Smucker Co. (SJM) $137.46 1.29%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Albemarle Corp. (ALB) $204.40 -16.91%
LKQ Corporation (LKQ) $49.40 -11.16%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $243.17 -8.28%
Weyerhaeuser Co. (WY) $39.91 -4.66%
Abiomed Inc. (ABMD) $312.24 -4.05%
3M Co. (MMM) $149.60 -3.87%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $72.86 -3.50%
Bank Of New York Mellon Corp. (BK) $60.35 -3.44%
Svb Financial Group (SIVB) $631.85 -3.41%
Morgan Stanley (MS) $97.71 -3.41%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Hasbro Inc (HAS) $103.29 6.44%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $56.26 3.70%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $101.88 1.67%
Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC) $37.21 1.60%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $168.96 0.96%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $76.00 0.93%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $133.42 0.66%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $3,169.75 0.24%
Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM) $103.14 0.00%
Mylan Inc. (MYL) $0.00 0.00%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $243.17 -8.28%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $1,090.89 -3.79%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $72.86 -3.50%
Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $162.88 -3.24%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $141.21 -3.18%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $30.59 -3.17%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $207.22 -3.08%
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $86.70 -3.04%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $221.44 -3.01%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $370.19 -2.99%