Dow Falls 200 Points After Worse Than Expected Jobless Claims

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 08%, around 200 points, at Thursday’s open, while the S&P 500 was down 0.6% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 0.2%.

Stocks opened lower on the back of disappointing jobless claims data: Another 1.5 million Americans filed for unemployment in the week ending June 13—higher than the 1.3 million expected. 

Even though claims have fallen dramatically from their peak in March, when 6.9 million people filed in just one week, this week’s data underscores that the economy will not bounce back quickly after the coronavirus pandemic is over.

Stocks also moved lower on fears of a resurgence in coronavirus infections across the country: Many states reopening, such as Arizona and Texas, are seeing record numbers of new cases.

Parts of the U.S. that have started reopening but are now seeing spikes in new cases are “on the cusp of losing control” over the virus, former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb warned CNBC.

Shares of companies that would benefit from the economy reopening—including airlines, retailers and cruise operators—subsequently led the markets lower on Thursday.