US jobless claims fell by 12,000 last week to 375,000 seasonally adjusted, the third consecutive week of declines, in the latest sign of an improving job market.

Meanwhile, producer prices increased one percent in July from the prior month, double the increase expected by analysts, while the annual rate hit another record 6.1 percent.

The report comes on the heels of Wednesday's consumer price index that was seen by investors as more benign than expected.

About 20 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2 percent at 35,430.62, and the broad-based S&P 500 shed 0.1 percent to 4,441.40. The Dow and S&P 500 have closed at records the last two sessions.

The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.2 percent to 14,729.25.

Senate passage of President Joe Biden's infrastructure package has helped offset worries about the Delta variant of Covid-19.