Jobs Data Weigh Down U.S. Stocks

Updated from 11:37 a.m. EDT

Stocks in the U.S. were dealt a serious blow Thursday as grim sales reports from the retail sector and rising unemployment claims enhanced investor pessimism.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 241 points at 11,293, and the S&P 500 lost 25 points to 1250. The Nasdaq stumbled 46 points to 2288.

The day's docket included a hefty serving of additional economic information. Automatic Data Processing's August employment figures showed private payrolls down 33,000, a slightly wider decline than estimates. The Department of Labor's jobless claims for the week ended Aug. 30 came in at 444,000, higher than expectations for 420,000 new claims. ...