U.S. Stocks Fall on Worries of Economic Slowdown

By Liz Moyer

Investing.com -- U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, extending a losing streak to a fifth day to start off the month.

At 10:25 ET (14:25 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 179 points, or 0.6%, while the S&P 500 0.8% and the NASDAQ Composite 1.3%.

The markets ended August on a down note and now enter September with the Federal Reserve set to make another move on interest rates. September also happens to be the worst month of the year for the stock markets, historically.

New Covid-19-related lockdowns in parts of China is adding to the anxiety about the possibility of an economic slowdown, which is weighing on stocks and oil prices.

Initial jobless claims fell to 232,000 last week, which was lower than expected. The full August jobs report comes out Friday, with analysts expecting the economy added 300,000 positions. 

And another piece of economic data, the ISM Manufacturing PMI, showed a reading of 52.8 for August, which is up from the 52 expected and the same as the July reading.

Shares of Okta Inc (NASDAQ:OKTA), an identity authentication app, fell 30% after it said it was having issues integrating Auth0 after acquiring it last year.

Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB) shares fell 6% despite offering a better-than-expected outlook, noting price increases for its packaged meals and canned soups.

Oil fell. WTI was down 1.3%, to $88.48 a barrel, while Brent crude was down 1.4%, to $94.22 a barrel. Gold shed 1%, to $1706.