(RTTNews) - Stocks have moved sharply lower in early trading on Thursday, with the major averages seeing some further downside after ending the previous session in the red. The initial weakness reflects broad based selling pressure.

A report from the Labor Department showing that initial jobless claims were unchanged last week has generated some negative sentiment, as the data has led to renewed concerns about the outlook for the labor market and the broader economy.

The report showed that jobless claims for the week came in at 505,000, unchanged from the previous week’s revised figure. Economists had been expecting jobless claims to edge up to 504,000 from the 502,000 originally reported for the previous week.

With jobless claims unchanged, they remained above the 500,000 level, pointing to continued weakness in the labor market. Jobless claims have not been below 500,000 since coming in at 488,000 in the week ended January 3rd.

Nonetheless, jobless claims have moved well off the highs set in March, and the report also showed that the less volatile four-week moving average fell to 514,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 520,500.

Semiconductor stocks have helped to lead the way lower following some negative analyst comments, with Bank of America-Merrill Lynch cutting its rating on the sector. Health insurance, resource, chemical, and networking stocks are also posting steep losses.

The major averages have continued to move to the downside in the past few minutes, falling to new lows for the young session. The Dow is currently down 111.85 at 10,314.46, the Nasdaq is down 34.86 at 2,158.27 and the S&P 500 is down 14.98 at 1,094.82.

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Posted in Categories: Economy, Releases.

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