NEW YORK, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- U.S. markets fell early Thursday, despite news from the Labor Department that initial jobless claims declined in the week ending Nov. 14.
The department said 505,000 initial unemployment claims were filed, 6,500 fewer than the previous week.
Markets declined in advance of a late morning release of U.S. leading indicators. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve is due to release data on manufacturing activity later today.
In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 137.17 points or 1.32 percent to 10,289.14. The Standard & Poor's 500 lost 17.00 or 1.53 percent to 1,092.80. The Nasdaq composite index lost 38.35 or 1.75 percent to 2,154.79.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury rose 6/32 to yield 3.34 percent.
The euro fell to $1.4861 from Wednesday's $1.496. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 88.75 yen from Wednesday's 89.37 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index lost 1.32 percent, 127.33, to 9,549.47.
