US open: Stocks head south as traders digest a number of data points

Wall Street stocks were in the red early on Thursday as market participants digested several data points and comments from an array of Federal Reserve bankers.

As of 1530 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.49% at 33,388.90, while the S&P 500 lost 0.86% to 3,924.88 and the Nasdaq Composite came out the gate 0.78% weaker at 11,096.49.

The Dow opened 164.93 points lower on Thursday, extending losses recorded in the previous session following sour earnings from retail giant Target.

Thursday's primary focus will be on a number of Fed speakers who will take the stage today, with Raphael Bostic, Michelle Bowman, Loretta Mester, Philip Jefferson, and Neel Kashkari all delivering speeches throughout the course of the day. Traders will look for any sort of insight into the central bank's thought process when it comes to future interest rate hikes.

On the macro front, unemployment claims slipped just a tad last week but some economists said that the underlying trend might now be edging up. According to the Department of Labor, first-time jobless claims decreased by 4,000 to reach 222,000 during the week ending on 12 November. The four-week moving average for initial claims increased by 2,000 to 221,000.

Elsewhere, homebuilders in the US broke ground on slightly more new houses last month than forecast by economists. According to the Department of Commerce, in seasonally adjusted terms, the annual rate of housing starts declined at a month-on-month pace of 4.2% to reach 1.425m. Housing permits, on the other hand, decreased by 2.6% month-on-month to reach 1.52m.

Finally, manufacturing sector activity in the US mid-Atlantic region worsened unexpectedly last month as factories reduced staffing levels and the work week shortened. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, its regional factory gauge dropped from a reading of -8.7 for September to -19.4 in October.

In the corporate space, retailer Macy's raised full-year earnings guidance on Thursday after its third-quarter results came in ahead of Wall Street expectations, while suburban department store specialist Kohl's beat Wall Street expectations on third-quarter revenue and profit in a pre-open update on Thursday but also withdrew full-year guidance amid "significant" macroeconomic challenges.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $45.87 3.32%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $101.56 1.63%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $517.82 1.23%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $182.29 0.64%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $284.92 0.41%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $60.54 0.04%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $272.62 0.04%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $173.52 0.04%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Honeywell International Inc. (HON) $0.00 0.00%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $149.47 -3.64%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $91.31 -2.81%
3M Co. (MMM) $125.26 -2.70%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $180.73 -2.30%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $49.42 -2.17%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $308.43 -2.06%
American Express Co. (AXP) $149.51 -2.01%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $228.11 -1.85%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $103.46 -1.68%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $376.73 -1.46%

S&P 500 - Risers

Bath & Body Works, Inc. (BBWI) $36.30 15.86%
Macy's Inc. (M) $22.12 12.23%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $30.98 3.96%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $45.87 3.32%
Foot Locker Inc. (FL) $32.15 2.29%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $12.27 1.91%
Nordstrom Inc. (JWN) $20.30 1.86%
Centene Corp. (CNC) $80.92 1.77%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $101.56 1.63%
Cardinal Health Inc. (CAH) $76.39 1.62%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $16.01 -8.98%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $1,911.11 -5.10%
Carmax Inc. (KMX) $64.92 -5.02%
Svb Financial Group (SIVB) $223.83 -4.77%
Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $57.34 -4.66%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $292.19 -4.52%
Quest Diagnostics (DGX) $142.79 -4.34%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $15.06 -4.20%
Freeport-McMoRan Inc (FCX) $35.85 -4.11%
Hanesbrands Inc. (HBI) $7.01 -4.10%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $45.87 3.32%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $73.67 3.28%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $55.08 2.97%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $96.97 2.34%
Trip.com Group Limited (TCOM) $29.25 1.70%
Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $86.61 0.90%
Incyte Corp. (INCY) $77.15 0.57%
T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $145.58 0.48%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $2.15 0.47%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $284.92 0.41%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $1,911.11 -5.10%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $927.11 -4.70%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $292.19 -4.52%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $15.06 -4.20%
Intuit Inc. (INTU) $378.86 -3.76%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $193.83 -3.75%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $174.44 -3.31%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $150.63 -3.06%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $97.80 -2.99%
Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS) $163.88 -2.95%