US stocks fall on weak statistics

According to trading data, US stock indices are falling on Thursday after the release of statistics that did not meet analysts' expectations.

In particular, the Dow Jones industrial index fell by 0.22% to 34858.47 points, the NASDAQ high-tech index – by 0.85% to 14004.23 points, and the S&P 500 broad market index – by 0.75%, up to 4441.39 points.

Pressure on the market was provided by data on the number of new homes in the US, the construction of which was launched in January. The figure unexpectedly fell by 4.1% compared with the revised figure in December and amounted to 1.638 million.

Additional pressure was exerted by statistics on the labor market. The number of initial claims for unemployment benefits in the US over the previous week increased by 23,000 (to 248,000), while a decrease to 219,000 was expected.

In addition, traders continue to analyze the minutes of the January meeting of the US Federal Reserve, in which the regulator noted that it is considering the option of curtailing supportive measures at a faster pace if inflation does not decrease.