Dow drops 394 points as unexpected rise in jobless claims complicates economic outlook

• Stocks fell on Thursday as jobless claims rose to 373,000 last week, surpassing estimates.
• The yield on the US 10-year Treasury slipped for the fourth consecutive day to 1.289%.
• Bitcoin and oil tumbled, while gold climbed.

US stocks slipped on Thursday as the unexpected rise in jobless claims complicated investors' outlook on the economic recovery.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped nearly 400 points, while the yield on the key 10-year US Treasury note slipped for the fourth consecutive day to 1.289%.

Filings for unemployment insurance unexpectedly edged higher. Jobless claims rose to 373,000 last week, the Labor Department said, missing the median estimate of 350,000 claims from economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

The print continues a choppy downward trend. The previous week's reading was revised to 371,000 from 364,000.

The stock market in the earlier half of the year notched a series record highs, but recent economic data such as labor shortages have caused some investors to worry about the momentum of the recovery.

Yet for Mike Loewengart, managing director of investment strategy at E-Trade Financial, it's only "natural" for the markets to hit pause.

"We're sitting at record highs and when you consider where we are in the business cycle, it's not time to hit the panic button," he said in a statement.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500 closed at a record high amid falling Treasury yields. Minutes from the Federal Reserve's June meeting showed policymakers are continuing to make progress towards reaching their threshold to scaling back asset purchases.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 9:30 a.m. ET open on Thursday:

• S&P 500: 4,304.03, down 1.24%
• Dow Jones industrial average: 34,287.39, down 1.14% (394.40 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 14,434.36, down 1.57%

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin slipped 6.12% to $32,627.

According to crypto lender Amber Group, the price of the digital asset may have to fall as low as $25,000 before major investors start snapping up bitcoin in large quantities again.

Meanwhile, sites pushing suspected dogecoin scams have skyrocketed in 2021, rising in lockstep with the meme token's nearly 4,000% rise since the beginning of the year, according to data from cybersecurity firm BrandShield.

Oil prices fell further amid concerns of a surging COVID-19 variant and the breakdown in talks among OPEC+ members.

West Texas Intermediate crude fell as much as 0.15%, to $72.09 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, dropped 0.12%, to $73.34 per barrel, at intraday lows.

Gold climbed as much as 0.73%, to $1,816.69 per ounce, extending its gains for the seventh day, as expectations of higher interest rates decline.