US stocks lower early on as weekly jobless claims continue to decline

9.55am: Dull start to Thursday US stocks were weak in early trading on Thursday, having hit record highs in the previous session, as jobless claims declined for a third straight week, showing the labor market continues to recover and heightening expectations that the Federal Reserve will undertake a tapering sooner rather than later. After 25 minutes of trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 91 points, or 0.3% at 35,393, while the broader S&P 500 fell 0.2%.and the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite shed 0.3%. US jobless claims fell to a seasonally adjusted 375,000 in the week ended August 7, from a revised 387,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department said Thursday. In recent weeks, jobless claims have been hovering just above the lowest level touched since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic took hold in March 2020. The four-week moving average edged up to 396,250 last week, well below the roughly 6 million new claims filed in late March and early April 2020, but above the about 220,000 applications filed weekly in the months before the pandemic. 6.55am: More data and earnings eyed US stocks look set for a fairly flat start on Thursday as investors await fresh data on the labor market and more earnings reports having moved higher in recent days helped by data, earnings and the Senate’s approval of a $1 trillion infrastructure bill. Futures for the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average and the broader S&P 500 were both flat after both indices notched up records on Wednesday. Nasdaq-100 futures edged down 0.2%. The latest weekly jobless claims data is forecast to show a small decline for the week that ended August 7. Also due for release on Thursday is the US producer-price index for July, which will be closely scrutinized for clues about wholesale inflation. Concerns about inflation receded on Wednesday after July consumer prices data showed a decline on a monthly basis, dropping to 0.5% last month from 0.9% in June. A clutch of technology companies are scheduled to report earnings Thursday, with the pick - Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB) and Walt Disney - expected after the markets close. Vaccine makers pushed higher in pre-market trading after reports the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is close to approving COVID-19 booster shots. Five things to watch on Thursday: eBay Inc posted a mixed set of second-quarter results after-hours on Wednesday as it continues to streamline the business and tweak its tech in the face of powerful competition. Baidu Inc's quarterly results topped Wall Street estimates as the Chinese search giant benefited from a rebound in advertising sales and higher demand for its artificial intelligence and cloud products. Oil majors Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp are seeking to bulk up in the burgeoning renewable fuels space by finding ways to make such products at existing facilities, sources familiar with the efforts told Reuters. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has made clear how important it is for the company to keep to its schedule for the construction of its European gigafactory in the German state of Brandenburg, its economy minister Joerg Steinbach said, according to Reuters. EO Charging, an English designer of electric vehicle equipment, will be the first UK electric charging company to go public after it agreed a merger with NASDAQ-listed special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) First Reserve Sustainable Growth Corp., parent company Juuce Ltd said on Thursday with the combination expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021