• US stocks slipped on Thursday as weekly jobless claims rose for the first time since March.
  • Investors are also watching for signs that Congress will announce more stimulus to replace the extra $600 weekly unemployment benefit set to expire at the end of July.
  • Shares of Tesla and Twitter climbed following positive earnings results.
  • Read more on Business Insider.

US stocks slid on Thursday as investors digested the first decline in weekly jobless claims since March.

New US weekly jobless claims totaled 1.42 million in the week that ended Saturday, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That was above the consensus economist estimate of 1.3 million compiled by Bloomberg. It also exceeded the prior week’s 1.3 million filings, marking the first increase in 15 weeks.

The regression comes as new coronavirus cases continue to climb in the US, with total infections surpassing 3.9 million according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The spike in cases has threatened the economic recovery as many states have had to pause or rollback reopening plans.

Here’s where US indexes stood shortly after the 9:30 a.m. ET market open on Thursday:

Read more: Buy these 19 cheap healthcare stocks poised to beat the market regardless of election outcome and the fate of Obamacare, BTIG says

"The economy does not seem to be on sound footing anymore and the with high uncertainty with the direction of the coronavirus, businesses will likely struggle to justify hirings," said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA.

Investors also watched for signs that Congress will announce more stimulus to replace the extra $600 weekly unemployment benefit set to expire at the end of July.

On Wednesday evening, Senate Republicans announced that they'd reached a tentative agreement on legislation, which will set the stage for talks with Democrats.

Read more: Jefferies is making 2 major shifts to its stock-investing strategy as the US lags a broader economic recovery. Here's how the firm says the new trades will help investors crush the market.

Earnings season continued. Shares of Tesla jumped after the company reported quarterly results Wednesday that exceeded Wall Street's expectations. The company also posted its fourth consecutive quarterly profit, a key milestone for potential inclusion in the S&P 500 Index.

Twitter climbed fter the company reported record user growth in the second quarter.

West Texas Intermediate crude fell as much as 1.2%, to $41.38 per barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 1.2%, to $43.78 per barrel, at intraday lows.

Read more: Leka Devatha quit a cushy corporate career to start flipping houses. She breaks down how she made $1 million on a single deal by supercharging a simple strategy.