US close: Street falls as sentiment hit by North Korea news
Wall Street moved finished in the red on Thursday amid growing geopolitical concerns, with worries about trade talks with China and Trump's decision to pull out of a historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un weighing on investors' minds.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session down 0.3% at 24,811.76, the S&P 500 was off 0.2% at 2,726.76, and the Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.06% to 6,949.70.
Trump told North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that a planned summit between the two "will not take place" in a letter that followed expressions of anger from officials of the rogue nation over US demands to denuclearise.
In his letter, Trump said, "you talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used."
Choe Son Hui, North Korea's vice minister of foreign affairs, said that if the 12 June talks were cancelled, the US would be faced with a "nuclear-to-nuclear showdown".
Elsewhere, Trump reignited concerns about a trade war between the US and China by announcing plans for an investigation that could lead to import tariffs on cars.
The US Department of Commerce said late on Wednesday that it had begun a probe into auto imports to determine whether they "threaten to impair the national security" of the US.
"There is evidence suggesting that, for decades, imports from abroad have eroded our domestic auto industry," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement, as he promised a "thorough, fair and transparent investigation".
China hit back by saying that the probe was an "abuse" of national security clauses.
On the data front, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose last week to a seven-week high, according to data from the Labor Department.
US initial jobless claims were up 11,000 to 234,000 from the previous week's level, which was revised up by 1,000. Economists had been expecting a reading of 220,000.
Meanwhile, the four-week moving average was up 6,250 to 219,750 from the previous week's average, which was revised up by 250.
In other news, sales of US existing homes slid in April after two straight months of increases, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.
Sales fell by 2.5% to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.46m in April. Economists had been expecting a level of 5.57m.
On the year, sales were 1.4% lower and have fallen year-over-year for two straight months.
In corporate news, Victoria's Secret parent L Brands collected 3.44% despite downgrading its outlook late on Wednesday.
Shares in Hormel Foods lost 1.12% after earnings slipped on less than expected revenue rise, while Medtronic ticked up 1.98% following a fourth-quarter earnings and revenues beat.
Best Buy slumped 6.65% as online growth slowed for the electronics retailer, and McKesson dropped 1.87% after missing estimates.
Dow Jones - Risers
General Electric Co. (GE) $14.60 2.96%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $72.18 1.18%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $162.40 0.48%
3M Co. (MMM) $199.42 0.37%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $187.08 0.26%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $48.64 0.12%
American Express Co. (AXP) $102.01 0.08%
Visa Inc. (V) $131.86 0.01%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $157.69 -0.03%
Boeing Co. (BA) $359.00 -0.06%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $80.27 -2.29%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $126.58 -1.62%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $111.23 -1.12%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $66.38 -0.98%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $122.22 -0.97%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $54.75 -0.83%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $102.10 -0.76%
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $236.10 -0.72%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $242.77 -0.63%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $73.77 -0.55%
S&P 500 - Risers
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) $34.43 3.86%
Kohls Corp. (KSS) $64.51 3.61%
L Brands Inc (LB) $35.22 3.44%
Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) $42.19 3.41%
Signet Jewelers Ltd (SIG) $42.53 3.25%
Kansas City Southern (KSU) $112.08 3.09%
Gap Inc. (GPS) $32.95 3.03%
General Electric Co. (GE) $14.60 2.96%
Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $20.58 2.54%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $61.49 2.53%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Whirlpool Corp. (WHR) $151.01 -8.28%
Frontier Communications Co. (FTR) $7.75 -7.30%
Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) $70.90 -6.65%
Southwestern Energy Co. (SWN) $4.45 -3.47%
Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (PXD) $193.23 -3.14%
Apache Corp. (APA) $41.26 -3.08%
Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) $71.22 -3.04%
Newell Brands Inc (NWL) $25.11 -2.98%
Pitney Bowes Inc. (PBI) $8.69 -2.79%
Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) $54.67 -2.69%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $314.93 3.33%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $317.04 2.87%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $61.49 2.53%
Celgene Corp. (CELG) $79.54 2.42%
J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $127.12 2.01%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $43.56 1.78%
Ctrip.Com International Ltd. Ads (CTRP) $45.93 1.68%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $116.99 1.53%
CSX Corp. (CSX) $64.43 1.38%
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $349.29 1.33%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $223.03 -4.09%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $268.43 -2.07%
Synopsys Inc. (SNPS) $88.56 -1.96%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $30.49 -1.58%
Symantec Corp. (SYMC) $20.99 -1.55%
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) $131.48 -1.51%
Qurate Retail Group Inc QVC Group (QRTEA) $21.13 -1.40%
Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI) $70.80 -1.31%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $87.46 -1.18%
Shire Plc Ads (SHPG) $164.50 -1.16%