Stocks fell on Thursday as Wall Street staged a broad sell-off ahead of a key inflation report as investors grew more concerned about the health of the U.S. economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over 600 points, while the S&P 500 dropped over 2% and the Nasdaq Composite shed 2.75%.
The decline comes ahead of the May consumer price index report scheduled for Friday. Investors are looking for signs that inflation may have peaked or if the Federal Reserve will need to take even more aggressive steps to reduce soaring prices.
Elsewhere, over 40% of chief financial officers cited inflation as the most important external risk to their business, according to a survey conducted by CNBC. Additionally, 68% of responding CFOs believe a recession will occur during the first half of 2023, with no CFOs thinking the economy will avoid a recession.
Here's how the market settled on Thursday:
S&P 500 Index (NYSE: SPY): -0.44% or -18.04 points to 4,097.73
Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DIA): -0.32% or -104.05 points to 32,806.85
Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: QQQ): -0.73% or -88.96 points to 12,086.27
Stitch Fix to layoff 15% of salaried positions:
Stitch Fix (NASDAQ: SFIX) said Thursday that it is laying off 15% of salaried positions in its workforce in effort to reduce expenses amid rising inflation and declining consumer demand.
The company expects to save between $40 million to $60 million in fiscal year 2023 due to the planned layoffs. Stitch Fix also plans to spend $15 million to $20 million on restructuring and other one-time charges, which will impact the company's fourth quarter.
"We've taken a renewed look at our business and what it required to build our future," CEO Elizabeth Spaulding said in a memo to employees, CNBC reports. "While this was an incredibly difficult decision, it was one needed to make to position ourselves for profitable growth."
About 330 people were notified of the job cuts Thursday morning, CNBC reports, with that number representing about 4% of the online styling service's overall workforce.
Jobless claims climb to highest level since January:
First-time unemployment claims rose in the latest weekly data, reaching the highest level since mid-January, suggesting that the ongoing strength of the labor market may be softening.
Initial jobless filings totaled 229,000 for the week ended June 4, according to the Labor Department's latest report, climbing up 27,000 from the prior week's print and marking the highest weekly total since January 14.
Meanwhile, continuing jobless claims totaled 1.306 million for the week ended May 28, standing unchanged from the previous week.
Here's how benchmarks started trading after market open:
S&P 500 Index: -0.44% or -18.04 points to 4,097.73
Dow Jones Industrial Average: -0.32% or -104.05 points to 32,806.85
Nasdaq Composite Index: -0.73% or -88.96 points to 12,086.27