NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are falling after the government reported that more people are applying for unemployment benefits.
The Labor Department said 409,000 people applied for initial unemployment benefits last week. That’s up from 388,000 the previous week, when applications fell to their lowest level in more than two years.
Retailers, meanwhile, are releasing their December sales reports. Target, Costco Wholesale and Macy’s all reported sales gains that were below Wall Street expectations. Yet analysts still expect retail spending in November and December to show the largest annual increase since 2006.
At the opening, the Dow Jones industrial average is down 8, or 0.1 percent, at 11,715. The S&P 500 index is down 1, or 0.1 percent, at 1,275. The Nasdaq composite index is down 1, or less than 0.1 percent, at 2,701.
