US stocks down as uncertainty weighs on strong data

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US stock market opened Friday lower despite strong macroeconomic data, as uncertainty in global markets continues ahead of the US presidential election next Tuesday.

The Dow Jones was down 0.41%, or 108 points, to 26,550 points at 09.35 EDT, while the S&P 500 lost 0.3%, or 9 points, to 3,300 points.

The Nasdaq fell 0.8%, or 87 points, to 11,097 points, with Twitter plummeting by 15% and tech majors Amazon, Facebook and Apple opening with losses after their third-quarter financial results disappointed expectations.

Personal income and consumer spending in September both rose 0.9% and 1.4% respectively from the previous month, according to Commerce Department on Friday, indicating American economy was on road to recovery last month.

After posting massive losses Monday through Wednesday, the three major indexes in the Wall Street posted gains on Thursday as US gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter soared at an annual record rate.

GDP jumped 33.1% in July-August period, from the same period last year, according to first reading after American economy contracted by a record 31.4% in the second quarter due to COVID-19.

The number of Americans filing unemployment claims for the first time fell by 40,000 from previous week to 751,000 last week, according to Labor Department on Thursday.

Despite the fall in claims, millions of Americans are heading for election next Tuesday without the much-anticipated relief bill that the Congress failed to pass.

The world's largest economy lost 22 million jobs in March and April and could only fill half as 12.6 million workers are still without a job.