US stocks lower on jobless claims, consumer spending

US stocks opened lower Thursday following downbeat reports on unemployment and consumer spending amid the coronavirus pandemic.

First-time jobless claims for the week ended April 25 hit 3.84 million, above analysts' estimates of 3.5 million. But there were 4.4 million claims filed the week before, suggesting the worst may be over if the number of new claims continues to decline.

On April 23, the US Labor Department reported that 26.45 million workers had filed unemployment claims in the previous five weeks.

US consumer spending fell 7.5 percent in March compared with the same period a year ago. The slowdown appears to reflect a 2 percent drop in personal income in March, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday.

Consumer spending represents about two-thirds of the US economy.

In early trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 234.38 points, or points, 0.86 percent, to 24,409.48. The S&P 500 lost 0.70 percent. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.01 percent.

But not all news is gloomy.

Through Wednesday, the Dow is up 12 percent in April and depending on today's trading, is on track for its best month since 1987.

The S&P 500 is up 13 percent in April and appears headed for its largest one-month gain since 1974.

Microsoft said strong growth in its cloud business boosted third-quarter revenue increased 15 percent. But the software company warned, "effects of COVID-19 may not be fully reflected in the financial results until future periods."

In early trading, Microsoft rose 0.95 percent.

Facebook said advertising revenue fell significantly in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, but sales stabilized in April.

In early trading, Facebook rose 6.75 percent.

But American Airlines said it lost about $2.2 billion in the first quarter, its largest quarterly loss since 2008. The company said revenue fell about 20 percent as the coronavirus pandemic slashed demand for air travel.

Through 2019, the airline industry had been profitable for 10 years in a row and expected another solid year in 2020 prior to the pandemic.

"Never before has our airline or our industry, faced such a significant challenge," Doug Parker, American's CEO, said in a statement.

In early trading, American Airlines fell 4.32 percent.

Macy's said Thursday that it plans to reopen 68 stores next week in states that have eased stay-at-home orders and planned a phased re-opening of their economies.

Jeff Gennette, Macy's CEO, said in a statement that he expects to reopen all the company's stores in six weeks if new infection rates continue to decline as projected.

The company, which also owns the Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury chains, operates about 775 stores nationwide.

In early trading, Macy's fell 4.28 percent.

Twitter on Thursday reported a first-quarter loss despite an increase in the number of users as expenses rose.

The company said the number of users increased 9 percent to 166 million for the three months ended March 31. But it posed a loss of $8.4 million compared with a profit of $191 million for the same period a year earlier.

In early trading, Twitter fell 2.35 percent.

Apple and Amazon are scheduled to report earnings Thursday after the market close.