Major U.S. stock indexes fell Thursday on concerns of a slowing global economic comeback from the pandemic.
The losses came as countries grappled with a fresh virus cases due to Covid variants. Japan declared a state of emergency in Tokyo and said the games will be spectator free.
Indices drop
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 260 points. The S&P 500 closed down at 4321 and the Nasdaq closed down at: 14559 – coming off recent record highs. The Dow in intra-day trading was down by as much as 535 points. Some of these losses were recovered in later trading.
U.S. weekly unemployed count increased unexpectedly
The U.S. Labour Department’s jobless claims count came in unexpectedly higher at 373,000, suggesting a possible slowdown in the U.S. labour market.
Losses were led by sectors that would normally gain from a rapid economic comeback from the virus. Tech stocks also declined.
Yields
Despite the recovering economy and inflation worries, the 10 year Treasury yield continued to decline. In March it was at a high of 1.78% – in July it was down to 1.58%.
Traders remain confused about the exact reasons for the behaviour in yields, with many citing concerns that the best of the economic recovery may be over.