by Sinéad Carew and Shristi Achar A

(Reuters) – The New York Stock Exchange ended in disarray on Thursday as a surprise drop in weekly jobless claims in the United States rekindled concerns about interest rates and inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.17%, or 57.54 points, to 34,500.73 points.

The broader S&P-500 lost -14.34 points, or 0.32%, to 4,451.14 points.

The Nasdaq Composite fell for its part by 123.64 points (-0.89%) to 13,748.83 points.

The US Department of Labor released a report on Thursday showing an unexpected drop in the number of weekly jobless claims, raising fears among investors that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will hold rates high longer than expected.

“Weekly (unemployed) claims were the big news of the morning, with good news being interpreted as bad news and it’s hard to ignore the news coming out of China,” said Sahak Manuelian, director of trading at Wedbush Securities.

Apple stock fell on Thursday after news emerged that China, one of its biggest markets, widened restrictions on iPhone use by government personnel.

Investor concerns also relate to data on August inflation in the United States, which are due to be released next week.

Of the eleven major sectors of the S&P-500, the technology compartment suffered the largest decline, as Apple dragged its suppliers and companies with high exposure to China in its wake.

The defensive sector of utilities (“utilities”) has progressed.

Wall Street-listed Chinese companies PDD Holdings, JD.com, Alibaba and Baidu were also down.

McDonald’s rose after Wells Fargo raised its recommendation to “overweight.”

(Report Sinéad Carew, Shristi Achar A and Amruta Khandekar, with the contribution of Johann M Cherian; Camille Raynaud)

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