Dow falls from record amid disappointing jobs data and weak Walmart forecast; European markets close lower as investors monitor key earnings and U.S. jobs data 
U.S. stocks slid on Thursday as investors were discouraged by a worse-than-expected jobless claims reading as well as a weak forecast from Walmart. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 119.68 points, or 0.4%, to 31,493.34, slipping from a record high. At its session low, the 30-stock benchmark was down more than 300 points. The S&P 500 dipped 0.4% to 3,913.97, falling for a third straight day. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.7% to 13,865.36 as investors continued to rotate out of high-flying tech. 
Walmart shares dropped 6.5% after its fourth-quarter earnings fell short of Wall Street estimates. The big-box retailer also sees sales growth slowing this year as the pandemic momentum ebbs. 
Meanwhile, the latest jobless claims number signaled a setback in the labor market recovery. First-time filings for unemployment insurance totaled 861,000 last week, the highest level in a month and above the Dow Jones estimate of 773,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. 

European stocks closed lower on Thursday as investors digested earnings from big names in the region, including Airbus, Barclays and Daimler, along with key U.S. jobs data. 
The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally closed down by 0.8%, with oil and gas shares sliding 2.2% to lead the losses as most sectors and major bourses dipped into negative territory. 
Before the bell on Thursday, Credit Suisse reported a net loss of 353 million Swiss francs ($392.8 million) for the fourth quarter of 2020 on the back of higher provisions. Credit Suisse shares slipped 3.2%. 
Barclays reported a full-year profit of £1.53 billion ($2.11 billion) for 2020, down 38% from 2019 but outstripping analyst expectations, on the back of a 22% rise in investment banking income. The British lender’s stock slid 4.4% by the close. 
Airbus restored its business targets after generating cash in the final quarter of 2020, but posted a full-year operating loss of 510 million euros ($614.5 million), with core operating profit falling 75% as a result of the pandemic. The planemaker’s stock fell 2.8%. 
At the bottom of the European blue chip index, German car battery manufacturer Varta fell 13.2% after its earnings report. 
Source: CNBC