NEW YORK ? US stocks fell Thursday, amid a slew of negative economic news, including a report showing new claims for US unemployment benefits jumped more than expected last week.
After spending much of the day deep in negative territory, stocks recouped some losses in late trades. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 41.49 points (0.42 percent) to 9,732.53, the sixth consecutive day of losses.
The tech-rich Nasdaq index dropped 7.88 points (0.37 percent) to 2,101.36 and the broad-market S&P 500 index lost 3.34 points (0.32 percent) at 1,027.37.
Before the opening bell the Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits rose to 472,000 in the week ending June 26, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week.
"Initial claims have moved broadly sideways since the beginning of this year, suggesting that despite a pick-up in hiring, as suggested by the monthly employment reports, firings remain elevated," said Theresa Chen of Barclays Capital.
Adding to the ill feeling, pending US home sales fell off a cliff in May after the expiration of a deadline to obtain a government homebuyer tax credit, an industry group said.
The National Association of Realtors said its pending home sales index tumbled 30.0 percent to 77.6 based on contracts signed in May. The index had climbed for three months in a row in April, when it hit 110.9.
Meanwhile the US manufacturing sector grew for the 11th consecutive month in June, but at a slower clip than expected, an industry survey said Thursday.
"The manufacturing sector continued to grow during June; however, the rate of growth... slowed when compared to May," said Norbert Or of the Institute of Supply Management (ISM).
The financial sector was among the worst hit, with Bank of America losing 2.4 percent and JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo both down over one percent.
The bond market was mixed. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond rose slightly to 2.949 percent from 2.951 percent on Wednesday while that on the 30-year bond fell to 3.895 percent from 3.909 percent. Bond yields and prices move in opposite direction.
