US STOCKS-Wall Street falls on stalling economic rebound, stimulus impasse

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window)
* Walgreens rises on 2021 profit growth forecast
* Tech stocks weigh the most on S&P 500
* Weekly jobless claims unexpectedly rise in latest week
* Indexes down: Dow 0.99%, S&P 0.99%, Nasdaq 1.10%

(Updates to market open)
By Medha Singh and Shivani Kumaresan
Oct 15 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks dropped on Thursday as an
unexpected rise in weekly jobless claims exacerbated fears of a
stalling economic recovery, a day after Treasury Secretary
Steven Mnuchin dashed hopes for more fiscal aid before the
election.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits totaled a
seasonally adjusted 898,000 for the week ended Oct. 10, compared
to 845,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department said on
Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 825,000
applications in the latest week. A separate report showed manufacturing activity in New York
State fell more than expected in October. Hopes of another round of fiscal aid to support the domestic
economy helped fuel Wall Street's recent rally, bringing the S&P
500 and Nasdaq earlier this week to within 2% of their record
closing highs on Sept. 2.
"It's been a kind of roller coaster as the market seems to
be taking cues mostly from the stalled stimulus plan and
concerns about fourth-quarter earnings if we don't get
additional stimulus after the vote," said Art Hogan, chief
market strategist at National Securities in New York.
With less than 20 days to Election Day, President Donald
Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden will hold dueling
prime-time town halls on Thursday instead of their second
presidential debate, which was canceled after Trump declined to
take part in a virtual matchup. Focus is also on the quarterly earnings scorecard for
corporate America, with expectations for third-quarter earnings
improving to an 18.9% drop from a 25.0% tumble forecast on July
1, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Morgan Stanley MS.N edged 0.2% higher after reporting a
better-than-expected quarterly profit, winding up results from
major U.S. lenders.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA.O gained 4.8% as the
drugstore chain forecast profit to grow in single digits in 2021
after posting a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit.
All major S&P sectors were down with energy stocks .SPNY
sliding 2.5% as oil prices tumbled 3% on worries about recovery
in fuel demand. O/R
At 9:42 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was
down 280.91 points, or 0.99%, at 28,233.09, the S&P 500 .SPX
was down 34.40 points, or 0.99%, at 3,454.27. The Nasdaq
Composite .IXIC was down 128.91 points, or 1.10%, at
11,639.82.
Shares of drug developer Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc VRTX.O
sank 16.2% after it discontinued its trial of a protein
deficiency disorder treatment.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 6.91-to-1 ratio
on the NYSE and a 5.08-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded no new 52-week high and no new low,
while the Nasdaq recorded nine new highs and 14 new lows.