MARKET SNAPSHOT: Dow Losses Grip On 22,000 Level As Stock-market Downturn Enters 3rd Day

North Korean tensions help to undercut investor optimism

U.S. stock-index benchmarks opened firmly lower on Thursday as Wall Street extended its recent move south amid persistent tensions between the U.S. and North Korea.

Dow Jones Industrial Average traded down 87 points, or 0.4%, at 21,963, while the S&P 500 index off 12 points, or 0.5%, to 2,461.04, with all of the index's 11 sectors trading in the red. Tech stocks were particularly hard hit as the Nasdaq Composite Index down 45 points, or 0.7%, to 6,305.

Geopolitical tension gained momentum on Thursday, after a North Korean army commander said, "sound dialogue" isn't possible with President Donald Trump and "only absolute force can work on him," according to state media. North Korea also laid out detailed plans of how it would launch a missile strike on U.S. military bases in Guam (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/north-korea-details-plan-to-fire-missiles-toward-guam-says-only-absolute-force-will-work-with-trump-2017-08-09).

"Traders would require nerves of steel to start buying into the stock market now, given standoff between the U.S. and North Korea," David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets U.K., said in a note to clients.

Brian Nick, chief Investment Strategist for TIAA Investments, which has $938 billion in assets under management said few catalysts remain to push stocks higher after earnings season is near wrapping up, which may give added significant to concerns about political tensions between North Korea and the U.S.

"What will markets take a cue from in that information gap? If it's North Korea, I don't think this will be a fruitful period for equity investors," Nick said.

Stocks finished off their lows, but still held on to losses Wednesday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stock-futures-pull-back-as-north-korea-threatens-guam-2017-08-09), as investors remained anxious about the U.S.-North Korea war of words and a clutch of disappointing earnings reports.

Meanwhile, traders absorbed a report on jobless claims (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-jobless-claims-rise-by-3000-to-244000-2017-08-10) that showed that initial claims for U.S. unemployment-insurance benefits continue to reflect a strong labor market, even as they inched slightly higher. The number of people who applied for U.S. unemployment-insurance benefits rose by 3,000 to 244,000 in the week that ended August 5, the Labor Department reported.

Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected the government to report that initial claims for regular state unemployment-insurance benefits rose 2,000 to 242,000.

Meanwhile, U.S. wholesale prices (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-wholesale-inflation-fall-01-in-july-first-decline-in-almost-a-year-2017-08-10) declined in July for the first time in almost a year, providing additional evidence of tepid inflation that is bedeviling the Federal Reserve.

Opinion:Time is running out to avoid war with North Korea (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/time-is-running-out-to-avoid-war-with-north-korea-2017-08-09)

Economic docket: New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley was slated to speak on wage inequality in the New York region at 10 a.m. Eastern.

Stocks to watch: Blue Apron shares tumbled 14.5%, despite a beat on revenue (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/blue-apron-shares-climb-after-revenue-beat-better-customer-revenue-2017-08-10). Shares of Kohl's (KSS) declined 1.3% after an earnings beat (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/kohls-stock-jumps-premarket-after-earnings-beat-2017-08-10).

Macy's(M) slipped 4.4% as the retailer reaffirmed downbeat guidance, but reported second-quarter earnings and revenue that beat expectation (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/macys-shares-rise-after-earnings-revenue-beat-2017-08-10)s. Net income was $116.0 million, or 38 cents per share, up from $11.0 million, or 3 cents per share, for the same period last year.

Opinion: Here's one retailer Amazon won't kill (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-one-retailer-amazon-wont-kill-2017-08-09)

Snapchat parent Snap Inc.(SNAP), Nordstrom Inc.(JWN), News Corp.(NWS.AU) and Nvidia Corp.(NVDA) will report after the close.

Check out earnings previews for Snap (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/snap-earnings-as-facebook-and-google-challenge-turf-new-approach-rolls-out-2017-08-09) (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/snap-earnings-as-facebook-and-google-challenge-turf-new-approach-rolls-out-2017-08-09)and Nvidia (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nvidia-earnings-cryptocurrency-boom-could-lead-to-new-products-2017-08-08)

(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/nvidia-earnings-cryptocurrency-boom-could-lead-to-new-products-2017-08-08)Other markets: Investors' appetite for assets perceived as haven in times of geopolitical trouble ebbed slightly. The Swiss franc gave up some gains (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/swiss-franc-gives-up-some-gains-as-investors-monitor-us-north-korea-standoff-2017-08-10), as the U.S. dollar was slightly higher across the board. Gold jumped $9.60, or 0.7%, to $1,288.50 an ounce, trading at a roughly two-month high.

Read:Here's why export powerhouse Germany is 'euphoric' even with a soaring euro (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/export-reliant-germany-euphoric-even-as-the-euro-soars-yes-heres-why-2017-08-09)

Oil prices were climbing, but data from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries showed a further rise in crude-oil production in July (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/opec-production-rises-in-july-in-latest-blow-to-output-deal-2017-08-10).

Asian markets continued to fall on Thursday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-continue-to-fall-after-wednesdays-selloff-2017-08-09), with losses of over 1% for the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index . European stocks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-fall-as-caution-over-geopolitical-tensions-linger-2017-08-10) were also in the red.

--Ryan Vlastelica contributed to this article

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 10, 2017 10:06 ET (14:06 GMT)