Stocks fell on Thursday as a record surge in daily U.S. coronavirus cases brought the end of the Pfizer (PFE  )/BioNTech (BNTX  ) vaccine rally as economic outlook sentiment soured. All three major market benchmarks were mixed throughout the session, only turning lower in afternoon trading following Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's uncertain U.S. economic outlook despite positive vaccine news.

"It's just too soon to assess with any confidence the implications of the news for the path of the economy, especially in the near term," Powell stated on Thursday to fellow central bankers. "We do see the economy on solid path of recovery. The main risk is the further spread of the disease."

Meanwhile for the economy, the Labor Department's initial weekly jobless claims fell last week to 709,000 from the prior week's upwardly revised 757,000. This marked the fourth straight weekly decline for initial claims. Consumer prices for October over September were unchanged, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Thursday.

Here's how the market settled on Thursday:

S&P 500 Index (SPY  ): -1.00% or -35.67 points to 3,536.99

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ): -1.08% or -318.64 points to 29,078.99

Nasdaq Composite Index (QQQ  ): -0.65% or -76.84 points to 11,709.59

For Stocks, Moderna (MRNA  ) shares rose after the biotech announced that it had reached the number of coronavirus cases required for its Phase III vaccine trial to submit preliminary data to an independent review board. The announcement signaled that the vaccine frontrunner could announce its interim efficacy results soon. Travel names and big banks were among the biggest losers on Thursday as positive coronavirus sentiments began to fade: American Airlines (AAL  ), Bank of America (BAC  ), Citigroup (C  ), Carnival (CCL  ), Delta (DAL  ), Goldman Sachs (GS  ), JPMorgan (JPM  ), Norwegian (NLCH  ), Royal Caribbean (RCL  ), Southwest (LUV  ), United Airlines (UAL  ), and Wells Fargo (WFC  ).

For Sector Performance, all sectors within the S&P closed lower as the vaccine rally ended, dragging the index to less than 1% higher for the week so far. Energy (XLE  ) was the biggest loser following a surprise increase in U.S. crude inventories coupled with coronavirus demand concerns, falling 3% lower. Materials (XLB  ) was also pulled 2% lower, while Utilities (XLU  ), Financials (XLF  ), Consumer Discretionary (XLY  ), Industrials (XLI  ) and Real Estate (XLRE  ) all slumped over 1%.

For Commodities and Currency, the U.S. Dollar (UUP  ) remained flat against other global currencies on Thursday as sentiment turned pessimistic towards a way out of the anticipated grim winter the U.S. and Europe is approaching as coronavirus cases continue to surge. Gold (GLD  ) prices rose 1% on Thursday as investors became concerned over the logistics of a potential coronavirus vaccine distribution as cases continue to climb, prompting investors to flock to the safe-haven metal. Spot gold increased 0.9% to $1,881.57 per ounce, while gold futures settled 1% higher at $1,880.50 per ounce. Crude oil futures were pressured on Thursday as increasing coronavirus cases loomed over demand outlooks. International benchmark Brent Crude (BNO  ) slipped to $43.53 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (USO  ) edged lower to $41.12 each.

For Friday, market participants will turn their attention to coronavirus headlines and fresh data on U.S. consumer sentiment and producer prices. Notable quarterly earnings set to report on Friday include DraftKings (DKNG  ) and Manchester United (MANU  ).