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| - US equities closed lower on Thursday, weighed down by the tech sector amid growing certainty Washington will not produce a new stimulus package before the election. The bellwether Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped barely 0.1 percent to end the trading session at 28,494.2, while the broad-based S&P 500 lost 0.2 percent to close at 3,483.34. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.5 percent to 11,713.87. Analysts said sentiment was dampened by Covid-19 fears as the virus surges in Europe, along with uncertainty ahead of the November 3 US presidential election. But all three indices did recover by the close following sharper falls earlier in the day. Markets got a bit of a boost after President Donald Trump signaled he favored a rescue package to help jobless workers and struggling businesses costing more than the current $1.8 billion offer from the White House, but did not provide any details. However, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin repeated his view that a deal with congressional Democrats would be hard to get done before the election. "We do need bipartisan support, we can't do this alone, so I will continue to negotiate until we can get a deal done," Mnuchin said on CNBC. Data released Thursday was mixed, with the Labor Department reporting a 53,000 rise in applications for unemployment benefits last week, which pushed jobless claims to their highest level since mid-August. Regional manufacturing indices for New York and Philadelphia showed a continued recovery, albeit at differing speeds. Alcoa shares dropped 5.4 percent after the company warned of a likely decline in earnings in the fourth quarter, while drug store chain Walgreens Boots Alliance gained 4.8 percent on better-than-expected earnings. hs/cs
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