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Stocks fell sharply on Thursday, retreating from all-time highs as tech — the market leader since the rebound began in late March — suffered its biggest drop in months.
The Dow Jones Industrials plunged 807.77 points, or 2.8%, to end a disastrous session Thursday at 28,292.73.
The S&P 500 plummeted 125.78 points, or 3.5%, to 3,455.06.
The NASDAQ Composite tumbled 598.34 points, or 5%, to 11,458.10.
Apple shares fell 7.2%. Amazon and Netflix were both down at least 5% along with Facebook. Microsoft slipped 6.7%. Alphabet pulled back by 5.6%. The S&P 500 tech sector traded 6.3% lower and was on track for its first losing session in 11 trading days. The sector was also on pace to post its biggest one-day loss since March.
Shares of beaten-down companies that would benefit from the economy reopening rose, bucking tech’s negative trend. Cruise operator Carnival advanced 6%. Macy’s popped 11.8%.
Thursday’s moves came after another record-setting session for the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ Composite. That run-up was powered by cyclical stocks, those that move in response to the health of the U.S. economy, and added to the market’s strong move off the March 23 lows.
Since late March, the S&P 500 is up more than 55% and the NASDAQ has rallied nearly 70%. The Dow has surged more than 50% in that time. To be sure, some analysts think it may be time for the market to consolidate some of its recent sharp gains.
The number of first-time filers for unemployment benefits totaled 881,000 for the week ending Aug. 29, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected first-time applications to have decelerated to 950,000 during the week ending Aug. 29.
That report came a day ahead of a widely anticipated U.S. jobs report. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect the U.S. economy to have added 1.321 million jobs in August. The jobs report will be released as lawmakers struggle to reach a deal on further coronavirus stimulus.
Prices for the 10-Year Treasury gained slightly, lowering yields to 0.64% from Wednesday’s 0.65%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices fell 19 cents to $41.32 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices shed seven dollars to $1,937.70 U.S. an ounce.
