Stocks fell on Thursday as investors weighed the pontential for an upcoming economic slowdown due to the Federal Reserve's more aggressive moves to fight inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over 700 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite dropped over 3% and 4%, respectively.
Thursday's moves drove the S&P 500 and Nasdaq deeper into bear market territory, with the indexes down over 20% and 30%, respectively, from their all-time highs set in January and November. The Dow is also hovering near its own bear market, trading about 19% below its all-time intraday high reached on Jan. 5.
The Dow also traded below 30,000 for the first time since Jan. 4, 2021 after first breaking above that level for the first time in November 2020. The index broke above the level after massive stimulus from the central bank ignited a broader market rally. Now, market participants worry the Fed's aggressive rate hikes, stating with Wednesday's 75 basis point hike, will harm economic growth and potentially push the economy into a recession.
Here's how the market settled on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
Housing starts fell to lowest level in over a year last month:
U.S. homebuilding starts dropped to a 13-month low in May and permits declined, showing another sign that housing market activity may be cooling as mortgage rates climb higher.
Housing starts fell 14.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.549 million units in May, according to the Commerce Department's report published Thursday, marking its lowest level since April 2021. April's print was upwardly revised to a rate of 1.810 million units from the previously reported print of 1.725 million units.
Beneath the headline, single-family housing starts fell 9.2% to a rate of 1.051 million units in May. Single-family homebuilding rose in the Northeast, but fell in the Midwest, South and West regions. Building permits for single-family homes also declined by 5.5% to a rate of 1.048 million units.
Jobless claims fell slightly last week:
First-time jobless claims fell by a less-than-expected rate last week, as labor market conditions remain tight and unemployment levels hover around 200,000.
Initial unemployment claims totaled 229,000 for the week ended June 11, according to the Labor Department's report published Thursday, falling 3,000 from the previous week's upwardly revised print. The previous week's total was a five-month high.
Moreover, continuous jobless claims totaled 1.312 million for the week ended June 4, increasing by 3,000 from the prior week's total.
