The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 236.94 points, or 0.75 percent, to 31,253.13. The S&P 500 decreased 22.89 points, or 0.58 percent, to 3,900.79. The Nasdaq Composite Index slid 29.65 points, or 0.26 percent, to 11,388.50.
Eight of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red, with consumer staples and technology down 1.98 percent and 1.07 percent, respectively, leading the laggards. Materials rose 0.68 percent, the best-performing group.
Investors parsed newly released economic data. The U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday that the nation's initial jobless claims, a rough way to measure layoffs, rose by 21,000 to 218,000 in the week ending May 14. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast initial jobless claims to total 200,000.
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks plummeted with the Dow and the S&P 500 both booking their worst daily plunges since June 2020, amid renewed worries that inflation could crimp profit margins and cause more aggressive central bank policy tightening.
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