NEW YORK, Sept 24 — Wall Street stocks fell early today, extending a pullback from the prior session on worries about economic weakness in the wake of the coronavirus.

About 15 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.7 per cent to 26,589.86.

The broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.6 per cent to 3,216.90, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.7 per cent to 10,560.68

US jobless claims last week rose slightly to 870,000 as the world’s biggest economy continues to face headwinds following the upheaval of the coronavirus pandemic.

Today’s early losses extended the downward trend from yesterday, when stocks retreated on disappointment at the lack of new fiscal stimulus in the United States and worries over the reinstatement of some coronavirus restrictions in parts of France and Britain.

Yesterday, "there was a palpable sense of uncertainty about the economy, the election, China, the coronavirus and the behavior of the mega-cap stocks,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare.

"The selling... will keep going this morning, as this market seems to be trading on the momentum factor than anything else, only this time the momentum is cutting to the downside.” — AFP