Stocks Opened Lower as North Korea Tensions Escalated

U.S. stocks opened lower for the third straight day on Thursday as tensions between the U.S. and North Korea remained elevated. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 93.57 points, or 0.42%, to 21,955.13. The S&P 500 lost 14.21 points, or 0.57%, to 2,459.81. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 51.52 points, or 0.81%, to 6,300.81.

Oil futures advanced on Thursday, after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries upgraded its global demand forecast. Light, sweet crude futures for delivery in September gained 28 cents, or 0.6%, to $49.84 a barrel. October Brent crude climbed 48 cents, or 0.9%, to $53.19 a barrel.

Blue Apron Holdings Inc reported a bigger-than-expected loss in its first quarterly report as a public company as the meal-kit delivery service spent heavily to woo customers. Blue Apron reported a net loss of $31.6 million, compared with a net income of $5.5 million a year earlier. Total revenue climbed nearly 18 pct to $238.1 million.

Department store operator Macy’s Inc (M) reported a smaller-than-expected decline in quarterly comparable sales. Net income attributable to Macy’s shareholders rose to $116 million, or 38 cents per share, in the second quarter ended July 29 from $11 million, or 3 cents per share, a year earlier. Net sales fell 5.4 percent to $5.55 billion.

Kohl’s Corporation (KSS) reported earnings that beat Wall Street estimates. Kohl’s said net income for the second quarter was $208 million, or $1.24 per share, versus $140 million, or 77 cents per share, in the same period a year ago. Same-store sales rose 0.4% compared to a year ago, while overall sales in the quarter totaled $4.144 billion, down from $4.18 billion a year ago.