NEW YORK: US stock indexes turned lower by early afternoon on Thursday as Alphabet shares extended declines to another session, overshadowing gains in Disney after strong earnings.
Wall Street’s three main indexes opened higher after data showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 196,000 last week, above a forecast of 190,000 claims.
The data tentatively eased concerns about the Federal Reserve’s rate-hike path after a strong January employment report rattled markets last week.
Weighing on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes, Alphabet Inc extended losses from the previous session to fall 5.6%. The S&P 500 communication services sector sank 2.6%, while Alphabet shares eyed their worst weekly performance since November.
The Google parent’s new chatbot shared inaccurate information on Wednesday, feeding worries that it is losing ground to rival Microsoft Corp. Meanwhile, Disney Co gained 1.6%, highest since late August, after beating earnings estimates and announcing job cuts, encouraging activist investor Nelson Peltz to terminate his quest for a board seat.
“Wall Street wants to see companies taking action and reducing costs and expenses. That’s the name of the game right now. Not great for employees, but certainly good for shareholders,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth.
At 12:53 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 73.56 points, or 0.22%, at 33,875.45, the S&P 500 was down 10.01 points, or 0.24%, at 4,107.85, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 29.41 points, or 0.25%, at 11,881.11.ows.
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