U.S. stocks extended losses Thursday, as worries about a year-end rate hike and a plunge in oil prices weighed on market sentiments. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 254.15 points, or 1.44 percent, to 17,448.07. The S&P 500 dipped 29.03 points, or 1.40 percent, to 2,045.97. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 61.94 points, or 1.22 percent, to 5,005.08.
As the U.S. jobs report for October came out much stronger than expected, it is widely believed that the Federal Reserve will pull the trigger on an interest rate hike next month. On Thursday, fresh remarks from several Fed officials further strengthened the case for a December rate liftoff. Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said in a speech that the Fed is close to reaching its employment mandate, but added he is less confident about reaching the inflation goal within a reasonable time frame. Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker said he does not think that recent low inflation "implies a more permanent departure from our target." St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said the Fed is quite close to normal with an unemployment rate of 5 percent and inflation only slightly below target.
Meanwhile, the market took a hit by a sharp decline in oil prices. Dragged by falling oil prices, the energy sector sank 2.39 percent as the biggest loser among the S&P 500's ten sectors. On the economic front, in the week ending Nov. 7, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 276,000, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised level, said the U.S. Labor Department Thursday. The four-week moving average was 267,750, an increase of 5,000 from the previous week's unrevised average of 262,750, but still hovering around the lowest level in years. In a separate report, the department reported that the number of job openings was little changed at 5.5 million on the last business day of September.
Overseas, European equities suffered big losses Thursday, with French benchmark index CAC 40 decreasing 1.94 percent, although European Central Bank President Mario Draghi reiterated that the monetary policy will continue to expand. In Asia, Chinese shares closed lower after volatile trading Thursday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.48 percent to close at 3,632.9 points.
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