Higher-than-expected filings for U.S. jobless claims ignited worries across Wall Street.

Stocks were lower Thursday across the board with the Dow seeing its first drop in five sessions.

Another 1.3 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, according to data from the Labor Department. All-in-all, there were 32 million people getting an unemployment check.

With the stock market bouncing-back significantly since cratering in March, investors are feeling jittery about what may come next, says Reuters Stock Buzz analyst Terence Gabriel.

"Because as they see further signs for the potential or renewed lock-downs in certain states and the increase in cases, the concern is that we could actually start to see those jobless claims numbers rise, again as we start moving forward, in the event the economy stalls. So the market has had quite a run off those March lows and with this kind of news there is concern that it may have sort of run out of steam."

Retail sales surged again in June, but the 7-1/2 percent gain was less than half the record rebound the month before. Economists are particularly concerned since the shopping spree took place before many states started to scale back reopening plans.

Another thing to worry about: unemployed Americans are set to lose an extra $600 weekly payout at the end of this month.

In corporate news, JetBlue and American Airlines are teaming up to form a strategic partnership in order to boost flying options in New York and Boston. The link-up, which faces governmental review, will allow the carriers to sell each other's flight and link frequent flyer programs. The partnership didn't inspire much investor confidence. Shares of American slumped 7 percent. JetBlue was down 4 percent.

After the market close, Netflix posted better-than-expected subscriber growth and sales topped expectations, but the company's outlook got the thumbs down from investors.