Higher-than-expected jobless claims data also pressured investor sentiment. Last week, 281,000 people filed for unemployment benefits in the U.S., well above a Dow Jones estimate of 220,000.
The moves followed yet another violent day on Wall Street on Wednesday as investors swung back to pessimism after Tuesday’s 6% bounce.
The Dow dropped 1,338.46 points, or 6.3%, on Wednesday and clinched its first close below 20,000 since February 2017. The Dow was down more than 2,300 points at the lows of the session. The S&P 500 dropped 5.2% to 2,398.10 and closed nearly 30% below a record set last month as both indexes sank further into bear markets.
A eye-watering spike in Treasury yields has also kept investors anxious. The 10-year Treasury rate rose 22 basis points to 1.18% on Wednesday following a rise of more than 30 basis points on Tuesday as it rebounds from record lows.
