NEW YORK, April 20 (Xinhua) — U.S. stocks dropped on Thursday as market sentiment was dampened by a slew of weaker economic data and Tesla’s disappointing operating results in the first quarter.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 110.39 points, or 0.33 percent, to 33,786.62. The S&P 500 sank 24.73 points, or 0.60 percent, to 4,129.79. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 97.67 points, or 0.80 percent, to 12,059.56.

Ten of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in red with consumer discretionary and real estate sectors leading the laggards down 1.48 percent and 1.19 percent, respectively. The sector of consumer staples bucked the trend and rose 0.06 percent.

U.S. equities finished lower Thursday amid weak corporate earnings and contracting economic data, said a note by Wells Fargo Advisors.

U.S. initial jobless claims in the week ending April 15 increased to 245,000, up from 240,000 in the previous week and higher than market forecast consensus of 242,000, according to data issued by the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday morning.

A manufacturing index released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia on Thursday deteriorated to minus 31.3 in April from minus 23.2 in March while market forecast consensus stood at minus 19.4.

U.S. annualized rate of existing home sales in March fell to 4.44 million, down from 4.55 million in the previous month, according to data issued by the U.S. National Association of Realtors on Thursday morning. The latest estimate was also weaker than market expectation of 4.5 million.

Electric vehicle maker Tesla, Inc. reported 19.3 percent of gross margin in the first quarter, lower than 23.8 percent in the previous quarter.

Concerns over Tesla’s cut of retail prices led to a 9.75 percent drop of Tesla stock price on Thursday, which acted as a drag on overall market sentiment.

Tesla’s weak earnings results caused a ripple effect in the market, dragging down tech stocks and contributing to an overall market decline, said James Hyerczyk, senior market analyst with market information supplier FX Empire.