US stocks retreat amid economic data

U.S. stocks declined Thursday as investors digested a batch of economic reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 195.79 points, or 1.07 percent, to 18,143.45. The S&P 500 lost 20.24 points, or 0.93 percent, to 2,151.13. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 49.39 points, or 0.93 percent, to 5,269.15.

On the economic front, U.S. real gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 1.4 percent in the second quarter of 2016, according to the "third" estimate released by the Commerce Department. In the first quarter, real GDP increased 0.8 percent.

In a separate report, the department announced that the international trade deficit was 58.4 billion U.S. dollars in August, down 0.4 billion dollars July reading.

Meanwhile, in the week ending Sept. 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 254,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

The 4-week moving average was 256,000, a decrease of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average.

In corporate news, shares of Deutsche Bank's sank 6.67 percent to 11.48 dollars apiece Thursday on a report that a group of hedge funds were reducing their exposure to the giant financial institution, which caused a broad-based sell-off in bank equities.

Shares of PepsiCo Inc. rose 0.35 percent to 107.76 dollars apiece after the soft-drinks maker delivered better-than-expected quarterly results.

Source : XINHUA