Stocks Opened Lower on Virus Restrictions, Jobless Claims

U.S. stocks open lower on Thursday, as virus restrictions increased and jobless claims missed estimates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lately fell 131.07 points, or 0.45%, to 29,307.35. The S&P 500 fell 14.49 points, or 0.41%, to 3,553.30. The Nasdaq Composite declined 13.58 points, or 0.12%, to 11,788.02.

Oil futures lost ground Thursday, with a continued rise in COVID-19 cases in the U.S. and around the world highlighting worries about crude demand and overshadowing positive news on the vaccine front. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery was down 31 cents, or 0.7%, at $41.70 a barrel. January Brent crude was off 12 cents, or 0.3%, at $44.22 a barrel.

The number of Americans filing first-time unemployment benefits unexpectedly jumped for the first time since early October last week, as rising coronaviruses cases in the U.S. weigh on the pace of recovery in the labor market. New claims came in at 742,000 for the week ended Nov. 14, jumping from the previous week’s upwardly revised 711,000.

Average daily cases in the U.S. have held above 150,000 over the past seven days, for a level worse than even the initial virus surge in April. And on Wednesday, total virus-related deaths in the U.S. crossed the grim milestone of 250,000.