Major US stock indices fell noticeably on Thursday, as investors assessed the reports of leading Wall Street banks and President Donald Trump's comments on the strength of the dollar.

As it became known today, the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits unexpectedly decreased last week, which indicates that the labor market remains strong, despite a sharp slowdown in the number of jobs in March. Initial applications for unemployment benefits fell by 1,000 to 234,000, seasonally adjusted for the week ending April 8, the Ministry of Labor said. This was the third weekly decline in bids and left them not too far from the 44-year low of 227,000 reached in February. Economists predicted that applications would grow to 245,000 people.

However, the preliminary results of the studies submitted by Thomson-Reuters and the Michigan Institute showed that the mood sensor among American consumers grew in April, despite the average decline forecasts. According to the data, in April the consumer sentiment index rose to 98 points compared with the final reading for March at the level of 96.9 points. According to average estimates, the index had to decrease to the level of 96.5 points.

Most components of the DOW index finished trading in the red (26 of 30). Most of all fell Chevron Corporation shares (CVX, -2.65%). Leader of growth were shares of Visa Inc. (V, + 0.52%).

All sectors of the S & P index showed a negative trend. Most of all fell basic materials sector (-1.4%).

At closing:

DJIA -0.67% 20,454.42 -137.44

Nasdaq -0.53% 5,805.15 -31.01

S & P -0.68% 2,329.03 -15.90

U.S. stock-index fell following the U.S. President Donald Trump's comments on the U.S. dollar and interest rates, while investors assessed bank quarterly results.

Stocks:

Nikkei 18,426.84 -125.77 -0.68%

Hang Seng 24,261.66 -51.84 -0.21%

Shanghai 3,276.07 +2.24 +0.07%

FTSE 7,308.91 -40.08 -0.55%

CAC 5,069.83 -31.28 -0.61%

DAX 12,112.57 -42.13 -0.35%

Crude $53.23 (+0.23%)

Gold $1,288.40 (+0.81%)

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Yahoo! (YHOO) target raised to $46 from $41 at Pivotal Research Group

Citigroup reported Q1 FY 2017 earnings of $1.35 per share (versus $1.10. in Q1 FY 2016), beating analysts' consensus estimate of $1.24.

The company's quarterly revenues amounted to $18.120 bln (+3.2% y/y), beating analysts' consensus estimate of $17.748 bln.

C rose to $58.60 (+0.15%) in pre-market trading.

JPMorgan Chase reported Q1 FY 2017 earnings of $1.65 per share (versus $1.35 in Q1 FY 2016), beating analysts' consensus estimate of $1.53.

The company's quarterly revenues amounted to $25.586 bln (+6.2% y/y), beating analysts' consensus estimate of $24.398 bln.

JPM rose to $85.75 (+0.41%) in pre-market trading.

European stocks logged their first day of gains in three sessions on Wednesday, with shares of car makers driving higher, as investor appeared, for now, to set aside the geopolitical worries emanating from Syria.

U.S. stocks closed modestly lower on Wednesday as investors remained cautious amid persistent geopolitical risks. The main indexes briefly trimmed losses as U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with the Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss the civil war in Syria and nuclear capabilities of North Korea, then ticked back toward the low end of the daily range after President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal that he felt the dollar was "getting too strong."

China's trade balance returned to a surplus in March, helped by renewed strength in exports after a surprise deficit in February. The balance between exports and imports came to a surplus of $23.93 billion in March, compared with a deficit of $9.15 billion in February, the General Administration of Customs said Thursday.