U.S. stock indexes opened lower Thursday morning amid a barrage of corporate quarterly results and economic reports that signal that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is still hurting domestic business activity. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 325 points, or 1.2%, at 26,216, the S&P 500 index retreated 1.1% at 3,223, while the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.8% at 10,457. A first reading on U.S. gross domestic product data for the second quarter confirmed the pandemic pummeled the economy. GDP fell at a 32.9% annualized pace, the Commerce Department said, a bit better than the 34.6% annual decline forecast in a MarketWatch survey, but still the worst in history dating back to records since 1947. Separately, first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week, to 1.43 million from an upwardly-revised 1.42 million, while continuing claims also rose to 17 million in the week ended July 18. Thursday marks the most hectic week of corporate earnings reporting season, with results from dozens of high-profile companies due after the bell, including Google parent Alphabet Inc. , Apple Inc. Facebook Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. .
Dow opens over 300 points lower Thursday after U.S. GDP marks steepest drop in records going back about 70 years
U.S. stock indexes opened lower Thursday morning amid a barrage of corporate quarterly results and economic reports that signal that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is still hurting domestic business activity. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 325 points, or 1.2%, at 26,216, the S&P 500 index retreated 1.1% at 3,223, while the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.8% at 10,457. A first reading on U.S. gross domestic product data for the second quarter confirmed the pandemic pummeled the economy. GDP fell at a 32.9% annualized pace, the Commerce Department said, a bit better than the 34.6% annual decline forecast in a MarketWatch survey, but still the worst in history dating back to records since 1947. Separately, first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week, to 1.43 million from an upwardly-revised 1.42 million, while continuing claims also rose to 17 million in the week ended July 18. Thursday marks the most hectic week of corporate earnings reporting season, with results from dozens of high-profile companies due after the bell, including Google parent Alphabet Inc. , Apple Inc. Facebook Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. . Read More...
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