US Initial Jobless Claims Fall to 197,000, Beating Expectations of 200,000

United States initial jobless claims fell to 197,000 for the week ending October 3, beating consensus expectations of 200,000. The prior week's initial claims were upwardly revised from 197,000 to 199,000, pushing the four-week moving average down by 2,500 to 198,000. Meanwhile, continuing claims climbed to 1.716 million for the week ending September 26, up from a revised 1.699 million and topping forecasts of 1.708 million. The insured unemployment rate held steady at 1.1%. Following the report, major equity markets faced persistent downward pressure, with the Dow Jones dropping 400 points.