US stock indexes fell Thursday following the release of potentially discouraging data on the economy.
- The Dow fell 234.44 points, or 0.5%, to 43,914.12.
- The S&P 500 fell 32.94 points, or 0.5%, to 6,051.25.
- The Nasdaq fell 132.05 points, or 0.7%, to 19,902.84.
A report that came out early in the morning said more US workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than expected, the AP reports. A separate update showed that inflation at the wholesale level, before it reaches US consumers, was hotter last month than economists expected. Neither report points to imminent disaster, but they dilute one of the hopes that's driven the S&P 500 to 57 all-time highs so far this year: Inflation is slowing enough to persuade the Federal Reserve to keep cutting interest rates, while the economy is remaining solid enough to stay out of a recession.
On Wall Street, Adobe fell 13.7% and was one of the heaviest weights on the market despite reporting stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. The company gave forecasts for profit and revenue in its upcoming fiscal year that fell a bit shy of those from analysts. Warner Bros. Discovery soared 15.4% after unveiling a new corporate structure that separates its streaming business and film studios from its traditional television business. CEO David Zaslav said the move "enhances our flexibility with potential future strategic opportunities," raising speculation about a spinoff or sale. Kroger rose 3.2% after saying it would get back to buying back its own stock now that its attempt to merge with Albertsons is kaput. Kroger's board approved a program to repurchase up to $7.5 billion of its stock, replacing an existing $1 billion authorization.
(More
Wall Street stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
