Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. REUTERS

US stocks declined in early trade on Thursday after official data showed that weekly jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week while Consumer Price Index (CPI) climbed more than forecast in January.

The S&P 500 Index declined 4.07 points, or 0.30 percent, to trade at 1,332.25 at 9:40 a.m. EDT. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 26.64 points, or 0.22 percent, to trade at 12,261.53. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.35 percent.

The overall consumer price inflation in the U.S. rose 0.4 percent in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, mainly driven by increases in energy, commodities and food prices. The core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.2 percent in January after increasing 0.1 percent in each of the previous two months.

The applications for jobless benefits in the U.S. rose more than expected for the week ended Feb. 12, following a drop in the past two weeks. Initial jobless claims increased by 25,000 to 410,000 compared with the revised figure of 385,000 in the previous week against market expectations of 403,000. The 4-week moving average of initial claims increased 1,750 to 417,750 from the previous week's revised average of 416,000.

On the corporate front, Apple Inc.(NASDAQ:AAPL) shares declined 0.96 percent after the US-based tabloid National Enquirer published photos of Jobs taken on February 8 outside Stanford Cancer Center that showed him looking extremely thin and frail.

Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) shares declined 2.40 percent to $22.84. The company reported higher fourth quarter profit but its revenue missed analysts’ estimates. The company stock was downgraded to “hold” rating from “buy” rating at Citi.

Netapp Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP) shares plunged 7.58 percent to $54.20 in pre-market trading session as its fourth quarter earnings guidance fell short of analysts’ expectations.

The euro advanced 0.07 percent to 1.3578 against the dollar and the yen gained 0.28 percent against the greenback.

Crude oil futures advanced 0.07 percent to $85.05/barrel and gold futures rose 0.49 percent.

European stock markets are currently trading lower with FTSE 100 down by 9.99 points, DAX30 down by 28.81 points and CAC 40 down by 12.16 points.

Gold Dow jones Apple inc. Ftse