According to the US Department of Labor, the number of initial applications for unemployment benefits for the week ended July 3, increased by 2 thousand compared with the revised figure of the previous week – to 373 thousand. Analysts, on the contrary, predicted a decline in the figure to 350 thousand. The average number of initial applications over the past four weeks decreased by 250 from the revised figure of last week – to 394.5 thousand, which was the lowest level since March 14, 2020, when the value was 225.5 thousand. Major US stock indexes reacted with a fall to these statistics. In particular, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell 1.04% to 34321.13 points, the NASDAQ high-tech index fell 1.63% to 14426.3 points. And the broad market S&P 500 index fell 1.23% to 4304.74 points.
