US stocks extend losses as interest rate and recession fears linger

• US stocks fell on Thursday as concerns of a potential recession and higher interest rates linger.
• Recession fears resurfaced after retail sales fell 1% in December, building off the 1% decline seen in November.
• But the job market remains strong, as jobless claims fell unexpectedly to 190,000 last week.

US stocks fell for the second day in a row on Thursday as recession fears resurfaced based on recent sales and manufacturing data.

Retail sales data for the month of December showed a 1% decline, building off a 1% decline seen in November. The PPI data also showed a drop in business activity in December.

While an increasing number of company CEOs are warning of a potential recession and higher interest rates, the labor market remains on solid footing. Jobless claims unexpectedly fell last week to 190,000, well below economist forecasts of 214,000.

Traders on Wednesday sold stocks after Federal Reserve officials said the central bank would need to continue with its aggressive policy to keep pulling inflation down. The Dow sold off by about 600 points in Wednesday's session.

Here's where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET open on Thursday:

• S&P 500: 3,912.47, down 0.42%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,166.73, down 0.39% (130.23 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 10,913.64, down 0.38%

Here's what else is happening this morning:

• Celsius fell more than 10% after it lost a breach-of-contract lawsuit to rapper Flo Rida. The energy drink company has to pay Flo Rida $82.6 million.
• Peter Thiel reportedly made $1.8 billion cashing out on his 8-year crypto bet while at the same time he was touting the prospects for a massive surge higher in bitcoin.
• CoinDesk is exploring a potential sale after its owner Digital Currency Group was rocked by the turmoil in crypto markets in the wake of crypto exchange FTX's implosion, according to media reports.

In commodities, bonds and crypto:

• West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 0.39% to $80.11 per barrel. Brent crude, oil's international benchmark, jumped 0.52% to $85.42.
• Gold jumped 0.57% to $1,917.80 per ounce.
• The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose three basis points to 3.40%.
• Bitcoin fell 0.19% to $20,768, while ether dropped 0.20% to $1,524.70.