NEW YORK, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- Rising oil prices and poor job numbers hammered U.S. stocks again Thursday, with the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average closing with another big loss.
The only silver lining was the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index which barely managed to close in the plus territory with an ever so small gain.
With crude oil prices approaching the $49 a barrel level, the Dow Jones ended the day down 70.28 points, or 0.70 percent, to close at 10,038.90 on a trading volume of 1.46 billion shares.
The Nasdaq closed at 1,886.43, up 0.72 points, or 0.04 percent, on 1.31 billion shares.
The Standard and Poor's 500-stock index was off 5.2 points, or 0.47 percent, to 1,108.36.
The market retreat began right at the start after the U.S. Labor Department reported first-time filings for unemployment benefits rose by 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 350,000 in the week ended Sept. 18. Economists had expected only a 7,000 increase.
Bond prices fell. The 10-year Treasury lost $3.125 for each $1,000 invested, and the yield rose to 4.02 percent.
The dollar was weaker. It traded at 110.56 Japanese yen, down from 110.58. The euro rose $1.2287 from $1.2259.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock index was closed for a holiday. Hong Kong's Heng Seng index ended flat, with investors waiting for earnings from the city's two property developers. The Hang Seng rose 8.2 points, or 0.1 percent to 13,280.43. European stocks were lower. London's FTSE-100 was down 0.5 percent at 4,568.
