U.S. stocks fell at the start of Thursday's trade after disappointing Chinese economic data and elevated U.S. jobless claims underlined the struggles faced by the global economy as it looks to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The S&P 500 fell 0.8% to 3,202. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 160 points, or 0.7%, to 26,701. The Nasdaq Composite was down 1.1% to 10,436.

Analysts said softer-than-expected consumer economic data from Beijing was weighing on stocks and other risky assets, with Chinese equity markets suffering their biggest one-day loss since February.

And in the U.S., first-time jobless claims for the week ending July 11 declined by only 10,000 compared to the prior week, to 1.3 million

Source : Market Watch