Afternoon Markets: Dow drops on jobless increase

The Dow Jones is lower today after a surprise rise in the US jobless figures overshadowed an increase in August consumer spending.

The number of people claiming unemployment for the first time in the US rose by 17,000 to 551,000 last week, a jump from the 535,000 economists had expected. However, personal income was up 0.2% with consumer spend rising 1.3%. This was slightly ahead of the 1.1% rise predicted by analysts. With traders digesting the mixed messages, the Dow has seen turbulent moves so far and was down 85.48 points (0.88%) to 9,626.80 points by mid-morning. The biggest faller so far is Boeing, dropping 2.01% to $53.06. JPMorgan Chase is down 1.46% to $43.18, while fellow financial giant Bank of Amer...