Dow slides 420 points after virus fears outweigh positive jobless claims data

• US equities erased early gains on Thursday after fears of spiking virus cases overshadowed better-than-expected jobless claims data.
• Unemployment-insurance claims last week declined to 1.3 million, the Labor Department announced on Thursday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected a reading of 1.38 million.
• Walgreens shares tanked after the company reported a $1.7 billion third-quarter loss and froze its stock buyback program.
• Oil traded lower, with West Texas Intermediate crude falling as much as 4%, to $39.27 per barrel.
• Watch major indexes update live here.

Major US indexes erased early gains and declined on Thursday after traders looked past positive jobless claims data and grew more concerned about the US's coronavirus resurgence.

Unemployment-insurance claims last week totaled 1.3 million, the Labor Department announced Thursday, down 99,000 from the week before. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected a reading of 1.38 million.

While the metric has fallen for 14 consecutive weeks, its latest reading is still about double the 665,000 filings during the Great Recession's worst week. Continuing claims — those tracking Americans receiving unemployment benefits — declined to 18.1 million for the week that ended on June 27.

US virus cases surpassed 3 million on Wednesday, prompting new concerns of a longer-than-expected recession. Stocks turned lower after Florida, the nation's virus hotspot, reported a record in COVID hospitalizations. Coronavirus deaths also jumped a record amount.

Here's where US indexes stood at 11:15 a.m. ET on Thursday:

• S&P 500: 3,129.60, down 1.3%
• Dow Jones industrial average: 25,647.37, down 1.6% (419 points)
• Nasdaq composite: 10,433.83, down 0.6%

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Walgreens shares led the Dow lower. The drugstore chain plummeted after reporting a $1.7 billion loss in the third quarter. Adjusted earnings per share also missed expectations, landing at 83 cents to analysts' $1.19.

Gold remained above $1,800 as investors held tight to the popular hedge asset.

Oil prices slid. West Texas Intermediate crude fell as much as 4%, to $39.27 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, fell 3.1%, to $41.93 per barrel, at intraday lows.

Investors have largely looked through a spike in US coronavirus cases and pushed equity prices higher over the week. Stocks gained on Wednesday as a tech rally overshadowed falling travel stocks. Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet all turned higher through the session, and Apple reached an all-time high.

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