Major US stock indexes finished trading in negative territory

Major US stock indices fell noticeably on Thursday, as investors assessed the reports of leading Wall Street banks and President Donald Trump's comments on the strength of the dollar.

As it became known today, the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits unexpectedly decreased last week, which indicates that the labor market remains strong, despite a sharp slowdown in the number of jobs in March. Initial applications for unemployment benefits fell by 1,000 to 234,000, seasonally adjusted for the week ending April 8, the Ministry of Labor said. This was the third weekly decline in bids and left them not too far from the 44-year low of 227,000 reached in February. Economists predicted that applications would grow to 245,000 people.

However, the preliminary results of the studies submitted by Thomson-Reuters and the Michigan Institute showed that the mood sensor among American consumers grew in April, despite the average decline forecasts. According to the data, in April the consumer sentiment index rose to 98 points compared with the final reading for March at the level of 96.9 points. According to average estimates, the index had to decrease to the level of 96.5 points.

Most components of the DOW index finished trading in the red (26 of 30). Most of all fell Chevron Corporation shares (CVX, -2.65%). Leader of growth were shares of Visa Inc. (V, + 0.52%).

All sectors of the S & P index showed a negative trend. Most of all fell basic materials sector (-1.4%).

At closing:

DJIA -0.67% 20,454.42 -137.44

Nasdaq -0.53% 5,805.15 -31.01

S & P -0.68% 2,329.03 -15.90