Stocks open lower on Wall Street, led by drops in technology

Wall Street tapped the brakes on its record-setting run Thursday, pulling the S&P 500 down 0.6 per cent in early trading. The S&P 500 closed at its latest all-time high a day earlier and has risen for nine out of the last ten trading days.

Wall Street tapped the brakes on its record-setting run Thursday, pulling the S&P 500 down 0.6 per cent in early trading. Technology stocks led the way lower, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 1.5 per cent.

Apple and Facebook, big drivers of the market's recent rally, each fell about 3 per cent. The S&P 500 closed at its latest all-time high a day earlier and has risen for nine out of the last ten trading days. The government reported that the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to 881,000, which is still a very high number.

Asian markets finished mixed and European markets were broadly higher..