- The major Wall Street indices open negative on Thursday.
- Tech stocks remain on the defensive after the opening bell.
- Defensive sectors remain relatively resilient early in the session.
The main US stock indices have started in negative territory for the second day in a row Thursday, as safe-haven flows continue to dominate financial markets. At the time of writing, the S&P 500 is down 0.75% on the day at 3,901, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 0.8% at 31,353, and the Nasdaq Composite is down 1.15% at 13,544.
Reflecting the risk aversion environment, the CBOE volatility index (VIX), Wall Street’s fear indicator, rises almost 10%.
Among the top 11 sectors of the S&P 500, the risk-sensitive technology index and the communication services index lose around 1%. On the other hand, the defensive utilities index registers modest losses and the housing index remains flat after the opening bell.
Earlier in the day, the U.S. Department of Labor has reported that Initial jobless claims for the week ending February 13 increased to 861,000 from 848,000 and they were worse than analysts’ estimate of 765,000.
S&P 500 daily chart
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