Market Pullback Continues; Dow Loses 81

The stock market recorded losses for the third day this week as a couple of economic reports showed that the economy may be slowing.

The Conference Board's Index of Leading Indicators missed expectations and initial jobless claims rose for the week ending April 13. The leader to the downside on the session was the Nasdaq Composite, which fell 1.20 percent.

Investor anxiety has picked up this week as a number of economic reports have suggested that global growth could moderate going forward.

Major Averages
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 81 points, or 0.56 percent, to 14,537.

The S&P 500 lost around 10 points, or 0.67 percent, to close at 1,542.

The Nasdaq dropped 38 points, or 1.20 percent, to 3,166.

Jobless Claims
Initial jobless claims rose for the week ending April 13 to 352,000 compared to 348,000 for the week ending April 6. Despite the increase, this was below consensus estimates which expected the initial jobless claims level to rise to 355,000.

Continuing claims fell from 3.103 million for the week ending March 30 to 3.068 million for the week ending April 6. This was in-line with consensus expectations.

Philadelphia Fed
Data from the Philly Fed's Business Outlook Survey showed that manufacturing activities in the Philadelphia region slowed in April but remained on a track of expansion. The Survey fell from 2.0 in March to 1.3 in April. This was well below consensus estimates which expected the index to rise to 3.0.

Leading Indicators
The Conference Board's Index of Leading Indicators fell 0.1 percent in March after registering an increase of 0.5 percent in February. This compared to expectations that the index would be flat for March. Economists believe that the drop in the Leading Indicators Index will likely be temporary.

Commodities
Crude oil bounced back on Thursday despite more losses in the stock market. Near the close of equity trading, NYMEX crude futures were up a little less than 2 percent to $88.23. Brent crude futures had risen around 2 percent to $100.39. Natural gas surged almost 5 percent on the session and was last trading at $4.42.

Precious metals were mixed on the day after recording sharp losses earlier in the week. At last check, COMEX gold futures were up 0.39 percent to $1,387.70 while silver futures had lost 0.70 percent and were trading at $23.17. Copper, which has been sitting near new 52-week lows, added around 0.40 percent on the session.

In the agricultural complex, grain prices were mixed on the day. At last check, corn futures had lost around 1.80 percent while wheat was trading down less than 0.10 percent. Soybean prices had risen roughly 0.70 percent near the close of equity trading. Movers in soft commodities included coffee, which added a little less than 3 percent, and sugar which was last trading down around 1 percent.

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Bonds
Bond prices were slightly higher near the close of the equity session. At last check, the iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NYSE: PEP ) was trading up around 3 percent near the close of trading as the company posted better than expected revenue growth for its fiscal first-quarter.

BY Scott Rubin

Written By: Benzinga