US stocks trade mostly lower as fresh economic data spurs new recession fears

• US stocks were mostly lower on Thursday after weekly jobless claims jumped to the highest level since October 2021.
• Initial jobless claims surged by 22,000 to 264,000, which was ahead of estimates for 245,000.
• Fears of a banking crisis were reignited after PacWest said its deposits fell by nearly 10% last week.

US stocks traded mostly lower on Thursday after fresh economic data reignited fears of a potential recession.

Weekly jobless claims surged by 22,000 to 264,000, hitting the highest level since October 2021 and topping economists' estimates for 245,000. It continues a recent trend of the unemployment claims ticking higher as more companies reduce their headcounts or slow down hiring.

In an interview on CNBC Thursday, top economist David Rosenberg warned that a recession could sneak up on the economy in the coming months. "Recessions are like this odorless gas. They catch up on you," he warned.

Banking fears were renewed after PacWest said its deposit base shrank by nearly 10% last week, following a report that said it was considering a sale. The troubled bank stock plunged by more than 20% and helped drag down the Regional Banking sector ETF by 2%.

Investors remain focused on earnings after Disney reported a decline in streaming subscriptions to its Disney+ platform. The stock fell about 6%. So far, 90% of S&P 500 companies have reported first-quarter results, with 77% of those companies beating profit estimates by a median of 8%.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. ET close on Thursday:

• S&P 500: 4,130.62, down 0.17%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,309.51, down 0.66% (221.82 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 12,328.51, up 0.18%

Here's what else happened today:

• Egg prices have declined by 32% since their January peak, which has helped limit the rise of inflation in recent months.
• Top economist David Rosenberg said Microsoft's decision to not raise salaries for its full-time employees signaled that US inflation should continue to fall.
• Bitcoin has slumped nearly 10% over the past month, putting the 2023 crypto rally in jeopardy after a strong start to the year.
• Alphabet gained more than $130 billion in market value over a two-day period after the company unveiled its artificial intelligence ambitions.
• Robinhood said that it will launch 24-hour trading to let its customers buy and sell popular stocks like Tesla and Apple.

In commodities, bonds and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 1.65% to $71.36 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, dropped 1.28% to $75.43.
• Gold slipped 0.74% to $2,022.00 per ounce.
• The yield on the 10-year Treasury dropped 4 basis point to 3.39%.
• Bitcoin dropped 2.84% to $26,844, while ether fell 3.14% to $1,784.