Investing.com - U.S. stock prices fell on Thursday amid concerns European leaders will stay firm on Greece and not allow the country extra time to make fiscal reforms.
Comments from a key Federal Reserve policymaker that stimulus measures might not be needed pushed down stock indices as well.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 0.88%, the S&P 500 index was down 0.81% while the Nasdaq Composite index was down 0.66%.
Greece has asked for a two-year extension to push through economic reforms, but German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said earlier that more time won't help the country solve its debt problems, which sent stocks falling.
French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated similar sentiments.
Meanwhile, hopes the Federal Reserve will stimulate the U.S. economy were quashed somewhat by Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard, who told CNBC that the minutes from the bank's recent policy meeting suggesting stimulus is possible were dated.
"I do think that the minutes are a bit stale because we have some data since then that's been somewhat stronger," Bullard told the U.S. financial news channel.
The minutes, released on Wednesday, covered the Fed's July 31-Aug. 1 meeting.
Retail sales have beat expectations since then as have consumer sentiment figures and industrial production data, among others, including unemployment data.
Meanwhile tech heavyweight Hewlett-Packard missed revenue targets, which further fueled the selloff as did disappointing jobless claims.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported earlier that the number of people filing for initial jobless benefits rose by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 372,000 last week, off from market calls for a decline of 3,000 to 365,000.
The previous week’s figure was revised up to 368,000 from a previously reported 366,000.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average gainers included Kraft Foods, up 0.71%, Pfizer, up 0.21%, and AT&T, up 0.08%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Hewlett-Packard, down 8.07%, Boeing, down 3.37%, and Intel, down 2.72%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished mixed to lower.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.96%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.84%, while Germany's DAX 30 finished down 0.97%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 rose 0.04%.
On Friday, the U.S. will release data on durable goods orders, a key indicator of manufacturing production.
Comments from a key Federal Reserve policymaker that stimulus measures might not be needed pushed down stock indices as well.
At the close of U.S. trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 0.88%, the S&P 500 index was down 0.81% while the Nasdaq Composite index was down 0.66%.
Greece has asked for a two-year extension to push through economic reforms, but German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said earlier that more time won't help the country solve its debt problems, which sent stocks falling.
French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel reiterated similar sentiments.
Meanwhile, hopes the Federal Reserve will stimulate the U.S. economy were quashed somewhat by Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard, who told CNBC that the minutes from the bank's recent policy meeting suggesting stimulus is possible were dated.
"I do think that the minutes are a bit stale because we have some data since then that's been somewhat stronger," Bullard told the U.S. financial news channel.
The minutes, released on Wednesday, covered the Fed's July 31-Aug. 1 meeting.
Retail sales have beat expectations since then as have consumer sentiment figures and industrial production data, among others, including unemployment data.
Meanwhile tech heavyweight Hewlett-Packard missed revenue targets, which further fueled the selloff as did disappointing jobless claims.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported earlier that the number of people filing for initial jobless benefits rose by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 372,000 last week, off from market calls for a decline of 3,000 to 365,000.
The previous week’s figure was revised up to 368,000 from a previously reported 366,000.
Leading Dow Jones Industrial Average gainers included Kraft Foods, up 0.71%, Pfizer, up 0.21%, and AT&T, up 0.08%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst performers included Hewlett-Packard, down 8.07%, Boeing, down 3.37%, and Intel, down 2.72%.
European indices, meanwhile, finished mixed to lower.
After the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.96%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.84%, while Germany's DAX 30 finished down 0.97%. Meanwhile, in the U.K. the FTSE 100 rose 0.04%.
On Friday, the U.S. will release data on durable goods orders, a key indicator of manufacturing production.