Meanwhile, uncertainty continues to surround the Nov. 8 election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) - commonly referred to as the markets' fear gauge - surged another 12.1% to 21.6%. With new revelations into the Clinton inner circle each day, there is now even speculation that Hillary Clinton could pardon herself as the newly elected President of the United States. Here's how it would happen and what it would mean.
Let's look at the final numbers on Thursday for the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq:
Dow Jones: 17,930.67; -28.97; -0.16%
S&P 500: 2,088.66; -9.28; -0.44%
Nasdaq: 5,058.41; -47.16; -0.92%
Now, here's a look at today's most important market events and stocks, plus a preview of Friday's economic calendar.
The Dow Jones fell 28 points on Thursday as investors continue to weigh the risks of Tuesday's election and the Labor Department reported the largest jump in weekly jobless claims in nearly three months. Last week, 265,000 Americans filed for jobless benefits, a figure that was slightly higher than the 256,000 that economists had anticipated.
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Weekly jobless claims bounced off a four-decade low, setting the tone for a critical October employment report on Friday morning. In other economic news, the U.S. services sector grew at a slower pace last month. The Institute for Supply Management reported that its services index fell to 54.8 last month. That is down from 57.1 in September.
Everyone is talking about Facebook Inc. (Nasdaq: FB) after the social media giant reported third-quarter earnings on Wednesday afternoon. The firm reported a 55.8% jump in quarterly revenue thanks to a big gain in mobile spending. However, shares slumped after the firm projected that its advertising growth would "come down meaningfully."
Markets are still digesting a statement by the Fed Open Market Committee after the central bank decided not to raise interest rates on Wednesday. The FOMC said that the case for a rate hike has strengthened over the last few months, but the central bank wants more evidence of a stronger job market and more progress toward its inflation target. According to CME Group's FedWatch Tool, the odds of an interest rate hike in December sit at 71.5%. Here's everything you need to know about the timing of the Fed's next rate hike.
The WTI crude oil price today fell roughly 1.6%, while the Brent crude oil price dipped 1.2%.
But the big news today was happening in the technology sector. Shares of FitBit Inc. (NYSE: FIT) plunged more than 33% after the company reported its third-quarter earnings report. The firm reported a 23% jump in sales, but saw its net income slashed by nearly half. The firm also issued a very weak Q4 forecast, raising concerns about its upcoming holiday sales.