US stocks fell further on Thursday as higher than expected jobless claims raised fears about the economy. Gloomy same-store October sales from various retailers and a bleak sales outlook from Cisco Systems also weighed upon market sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 443.48 points, (-4.85%), to close at 8,695.79. The S&P 500 shrank 47.89 points (-5.03%) to 904.88. The Nasdaq Composite subtracted 98.48 points (-5.53%) to 1,681.64.
On Thursday, a release by Department of Labor showed number of Americans filing first- time claims for unemployment benefits fell marginally by 4,000 to 481,00 in the week ending Nov. 1. The department revised up its estimate for jobless claims in the previous week to 485,000 from an initially reported 479,000. Economists had forecast jobless claims to fall by 8,000 to 477,000.The four-week average of seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims; a less volatile gauge remained unchanged from previous week's revised average of 477,000. The number of Americans collecting state unemployment benefits rose by 122,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.84 million in the week ending Oct. 25. It is the highest level for continuing claims since February 1983. The figure is indicative of tight job market and suggests that it is getting harder for unemployed workers to find new jobs.
Shares of troubled automaker General Motors (NYSE: GM) slid 76 cents or 13.67% to $4.80. Alcoa (NYSE: AA) plunged $1.54 or 13.05% to $10.26. American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP), the largest US credit card company by purchases, lost $2.91 or or 10.46% to finish at $24.92. Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) and Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) skidded 7.73% and 6.93% respectively.
Financial were hit hard on Thursday. Citigroup (NYSE: C) was down over 8%. Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) plummeted $1.63 or 7.49% to close at $20.12. Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) fell $2.91 or 9.19% after it announced that it will be selling $10 billion in common stock.
Among energy stocks, Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) dropped 5.06% while Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) finished 6.66% lower.
Shares of Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) slumped more than 6% after it reported that same-store sales fell by almost 5% in October. Same stores sales were down for most of the retailers. Macy's, Inc. (M) subtracted 3.78% after it said its October same-store sales declined by 6.3%However, Wal-Mart's (NYSE: WMT) October US same-store sales climbed 2.4% ex-fuel and 2.5% including fuel, exceeding Wall Street expectations. Analysts on an average were expecting same-store sales to rise 1.6%. Wal-Mart fell 64 cents or 1.18% to $53.49.
Shares of Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) retreated 45 cents or 2.59% to finish at $16.94 the company said that second-quarter sales may decline in the range of 5- 10%. Late on Wednesday San Jose, California based Cisco Systems Inc.
