Stocks extend sell-off after rise in jobless claims, with S&P 500 heading toward bear market

• Stocks fell Thursday, with the S&P 500 moving closer to a bear market.
• Weekly jobless claims rose by 21,000 to 21,8000, the highest level since January.

Stocks fell Thursday, adding to steep losses as economic growth concerns were underscored by a rise in weekly jobless, leaving investors to keep watch on S&P 500 as it moved closer to bear market territory.

The S&P 500 was looking at a second day of losses following the release of US labor market data. Weekly jobless claims rose by 21,000 to 218,000, with the highest figure since January at hinting at some weakness in the job market.

The state of the retail sector was also on the minds of investors after Kohl's slashed its full-year outlook.

The S&P 500 was moving closer to a bear market. A decline to 3834.83 would mark at 20% drop from its all-time high of 4,818.62 that it logged in early January.

Here's where US indexes stood at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday:

• S&P 500: 3,893.03, down 0.78%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 31,159.38, down 1.05% (330.69 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 11,384.60, down 0.4%

Around the markets, Cathie Wood says it's 'ridiculous' that Tesla got booted out of the S&P 500's ESG index.

The crash of TerraUSD will be followed by more cryptocurrency failures, warned SEC chief Gary Gensler.

Oil prices fell. West Texas Intermediate crude lost 3.9% to $105.30 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, gained 2.9% to $105.91.

Gold gained 1.2% to $1,837.50 per ounce. The 10-year yield dropped 11 basis points to 2.78%.

Bitcoin rose 1.1% to $29,536.81.