Stocks fell sharply on Thursday, the last day of April, as another round of dismal economic data led investors to trim some profits as the market wrapped up its best month in decades.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 400 points lower, or 1.7%. The S&P 500 slid 1.5%. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.9%.
The Labor Department said another 3.84 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the six-week total to more than 30 million. U.S. consumer spending also dropped 7.5% in March on a year-over-year basis.
The sharp rise in jobless claims and the precipitous drop in consumer spending come as businesses are forced to shut down and consumers stay home amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Source: CNBC