Stocks fell in late-morning trading on Thursday after opening in the green, and one day after the biggest drop for the S&P 500 in a month. Near 11:18 a.m. ET, the Dow was down 60 points (0.34%), the S&P 500 was down 8 points (0.41%) and the Nasdaq was down 46 points (1%). Apple shares took out their year-to-date low and fell 3% to as low as $89.47, the weakest level in about two years. Nikkei reported that Apple's main processor-chip supplier sees shipments dropping by as much as 80% year-on-year from June through December. Meanwhile, crude oil climbed to a six-month high. West Texas Intermediate crude futures in New York touched $47.02 per barrel, the highest level since October, before slipping 1%. Crude oil has rallied about 26% in April. The big industry news in recent days included an unexpected drop in US inventories last week reported Wednesday by the Energy Information Administration, and potential supply disruptions in Canada following the Fort McMurray wildfire.[Screen Shot 2016 05 12 at 10.03.32 AM]Investing.com In economic data, initial jobless claims unexpectedly spiked by 20,000 to 294,000, the highest level since last February. It's not a reason to be alarmed though, as there aren't many indications that companies are increasing layoffs. In other news, Monsanto shares surged as much as 10% after Bloomberg reported that the chemical and pharma giant Bayer AG is thinking about making a bid for it. Kohl's joined the list of retailers that had a subpar quarter when it reported earnings pre-market that missed on profits, sales, and comparable-store sales. Shares of Target, Nordstrom and other stores tanked in trading on Tuesday after disappointing results from Macy's. The "XRT" exchange traded fund that tracks the retail sector was virtually flat in early trading after dropping 4% Wednesday. NOW WATCH: FORMER GREEK FINANCE MINISTER: The single largest threat to the global economy
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