Wall Street extends losses on lackluster economic data

U.S. stocks continued to retreat Thursday after Wednesday's slump, as weaker-than-expected economic data, soft health care and tech shares weighed on the market.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index dipped 81.45 points, or 0.56 percent, to 14,537.14 points. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock Index dropped 10.40 points, or 0.67 percent, to 1,541.61 points. The Nasdaq Composite Index plunged 38.31 points, or 1.20 percent, to 3,166.36 points.

The Conference Board, a New York-based business research organization, reported its Leading Economic Index for the United States declined 0.1 percent in March, following a 0.5 percent increase in February and a 0.5 percent rise in January.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia also said Thursday that its manufacturing condition index stood at 1.3 in April, lower than the reading of 2.0 in March.

In the week ending April 13, Americans initially applying for jobless benefits reached 352,000, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 348,000, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. While the four-week moving average, a smoother indicator, came in at 361,250, an increase of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average of 358,500.

Wall Street was also dragged by falling tech and health care shares.

Shares of eBay dipped 5.85 percent, pulling tech shares lower as the online auction website reported lower-than-expected profit and revenue after Wednesday's closing bell.

Apple shares also dropped 2.67 percent to below 400 U.S. dollars, losing again its title as the world's most valuable company to Exxon Mobil in terms of market capitalization.

UnitedHealth Group shares tumbled 3.77 percent, leading health care shares lower Thursday after it reported its first-quarter earnings fell 14 percent from a year earlier.

Other relatively positive earnings reports from key companies released Thursday failed to push the market higher.

Morgan Stanley swung to a first-quarter profit mainly due to a strong performance in its global wealth management group and institutional securities. However, the investment banking corporation's shares still slid 5.40 percent.

Verizon shares rose 2.77 percent after the telecommunication giant reported Thursday its first-quarter earnings per share as 68 cents, topping analysts' expectations of 66 cents a share.

Pepsico shares rallied 3.04 percent after the company reported its first-quarter earnings above expectations thanks to strong growth in emerging markets.

After the closing bell, several tech giants reported its first- quarter earnings report. Both Google and Microsoft posted mixed reports while International Business Machines missed analysts' expectation on profit and revenue.

On other markets, oil prices rebounded from a four-month low on U.S. jobless claims and a weaker dollar. Light, sweet crude for May delivery gained 1.05 dollars, or 1.2 percent, to settle at 87. 73 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent for June delivery was up 1.44 dollars, or 1.5 percent, to close at 99. 13 dollars a barrel.

The U.S. dollar declined against most of major currencies on downbeat U.S. economic data.

Investors also eyed on the meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of 20, which is held on Thursday and Friday in Washington D.C.. Bank of Japan, the Japanese central bank, may be pressured at the meeting, which led the yen to trim losses against the dollar.

In late New York trading, the euro rose to 1.3050 dollars from 1.3013 dollars of the previous session and the British pound climbed to 1.5284 dollars from 1.5237 dollars. The Australian dollar declined to 1.0283 dollars from 1.0292 dollars. The dollar bought 98.12 Japanese yen, higher than 97.85 in the previous session.