Investing.com – Wall Street traded lower on a light calendar day despite a larger than expected decline in weekly jobless claims and as investors awaited a historical meeting of Federal Reserve (Fed) chiefs, past and present, and watched as crude tumbled around 2%.
At 15:40GMT or 11:40AM ET, the Dow Jones loss 158 points, or 0.89%, while the S&P 500 fell 20 points, or 0.95%, and the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite traded down 54 points, or 1.11%.
Some experts commented that global growth concerns were weighing on sentiment despite a lack of “new” news and investors watched as the dollar continued its downward trend, especially with regard to the yen as it hit a 17-month low, after Wednesday’s Fed minutes underlined the U.S. central bank’s cautious approach to the tightening of monetary policy.
On Thursday, the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, slipped 0.10% at 94.40 at 15:43 GMT, or 11:43AM ET.
Additionally, International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde did once again remind listeners at a New York conference that the global economy was fragile, while European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi and a string of fellow members tried to hammer home their message to politicians that they needed to take action to support the economic recovery.
In any case, the economic news stateside was positive with initial jobless claims declining more than expected despite the anemic growth of the U.S. economy.
February consumer credit will be released at 19:00GMT, or 15:00 ET.
With this in the backdrop, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to participate in a panel discussion at the International House, in New York, alongside former Fed chairmen Ben Bernanke, Alan Greenspan and Paul Volcker for a program entitled "When the Fed speaks, the world listens", after the market close at 21:30GMT, or 17:30PM ET.
Traders will also be paying attention to a speech by the lone dissenter at the last Fed meeting, Kansas City Fed president Esther George, at 20:15 ET to further judge the balance of opinion among policymakers on the prospect of further rate hikes.
Meanwhile, oil turned around on Thursday after an increase in exports from Iraq offset the bullish reaction to a surprise stockpile drop on Wednesday.
Exports from Iraq’s southern ports increased to an average 3.494 million barrels a day in April, from the prior 3.286 million, according to the state-run South Oil Company.
U.S. crude futures fell 2.04% to $36.98 by 15:45GMT, or 11:45AM ET, while Brent oil lost 2.18% to $38.97.
In company news, Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) dropped 1.5% on a Re/code report that indicated the Internet company expects lower earnings and revenues in 2016.
Wynn Resorts Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) jumped 12% on plans for a major expansion in Las Vegas.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:VRX) gained 7% as it obtained approval from its lenders for an amendment and waiver to its credit facility, giving the embattled drugmaker an extra month to file its annual report.
Pacific Sunwear of California Inc (NASDAQ:PSUN) crashed 38% as the retail chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday
Costco (NASDAQ:COST) fell almost 3% after the low-cost retail chain posted a 1% increase in March same-store sales, missing consensus for a 1.9% rise.
ConAgra Foods (NYSE:CAG) gained almost 2% after beating consensus with its quarterly profit and revenue.
Shares in CarMax Inc (NYSE:KMX) tumbled 4% as the used car retailer reported a 1.5% in quarterly net earnings, despite adjusted EPS and revenue beating estimates.
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc (NASDAQ:BBBY) rose more than 3% after the popular merchandise and home furnishing retailer reported stronger than expected fourth quarter revenues and declared its first-ever quarterly dividend after the close on Wednesday.