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Investing.com — Wall Street opened sharply lower on Thursday after more disappointing retail earnings and data on unemployment as investors weighed the effects of inflation on the American consumer.
At 9:31 AM ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 311 points, or 1%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.8% and the NASDAQ Composite fell 0.3%.
Kohls Corp (NYSE:KSS) department store set the early tone, becoming the latest retailer to weigh in and falling 5% in the premarket. It cut its full-year earnings forecast, joining some of America’s biggest retailers in warning that a four-decade high inflation is wearing down profit margins and consumer spending power.
Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) and Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) earlier this week reported substantial drops in quarterly earnings because of surging fuel and freight costs, and warned rising prices are pushing consumers to make tradeoffs on their spending.
Jobless claims rose to 218,000, compared to expectations for 200,000.
Thursday’s open comes after a drop of more than 1,100 points for the Dow on Wednesday, its worst one-day performance since 2020.
Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) shares were also down 10% in the premarket after a weak outlook.
Oil also fell. WTI was down 1.5%, to $105.41 a barrel and Brent crude was down 1.2%, to $107.84 a barrel. Gold rose 1%, to $1,835 an ounce.
