Stocks moved sharply lower at the start of trading on Thursday, extending the downward move seen over the course of the previous session. The major averages dropped firmly into negative territory, although selling pressure has waned since the open.
The major averages have not seen much follow-through on their initial downward moves but remain stuck in the red. The Dow is down 94.28 points or 0.6 percent at 15,212.39, the Nasdaq is down 30.52 points or 0.9 percent at 3,432.78 and the S&P 500 is down 14.86 points or 0.9 percent at 1,640.49.
The initial weakness on Wall Street was partly due to lingering concerns about the outlook for the Federal Reserve's asset purchase program.
In Congressional testimony on Wednesday, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke acknowledged that upbeat economic data could lead the central bank to scale back the program in the next few meetings.
Adding to the worries, the minutes of the latest Fed meeting said a number of participants expressed willingness to adjust the flow of purchases downward as early as the June meeting.
Negative sentiment was also generated by a report from Markit Economics and HSBC showing that Chinese manufacturing activity contracted in May.
The report showed that the purchasing managers index fell to 49.6 in May from 50.4 in April, with a reading below 50 indicating a contraction. Economists had expected the index to remain unchanged.
Traders are also digesting a report from the Labor Department showing a bigger than expected drop in weekly jobless claims in the week ended May 18th.
Although the bigger than expected drop in jobless claims is a positive sign for the labor market, the data has added to concerns about the Fed scaling back stimulus.
Brokerage stocks are turning in some of the market's worst performances in early trading, with the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index down by 2.4 percent. Nomura Holdings (NMR) has helped to lead the sector lower following a sell-off by Japanese stocks.
Commercial real estate, steel, and housing stocks are also posting notable losses, moving to the downside along with most of the major sectors.
Meanwhile, gold stocks are bucking the downtrend by the broader markets, benefiting from a significant increase by the price of the precious metal.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved sharply lower during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index plummeted by 7.3 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled by 2.5 percent.
The major European markets have also shown notable moves to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has slumped by 2.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are down by 2.6 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries are regaining some ground after coming under pressure in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by 3 basis points at 1.993 percent.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.