U.S. stocks fell Thursday on worse-than-expected U.S. employment data as well as a weak 2021 forecast from retailing giant Walmart. In U.S. economic news, jobless claims rose unexpectedly to 861,000 last week, the highest in a month, indicating continuing layoffs. Housing starts fell a sharp 6 percent in January, but permits for future projects jumped 10.4 percent, signaling continued strength in the homebuilding sector. Import prices increased by the most in nine years in January on higher costs for fuels and a weaker dollar. Export prices jumped 2.5 percent, the most on record. The U.S. dollar held steady on expectations the U.S. economy would recover from the pandemic faster than most of its peers. Gold remained near 11-week lows in volatile trade as higher Treasury yields made the precious metal less attractive. Futures advanced 0.1 percent to $1,775 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil fell despite a sharp drop in U.S. crude inventories, as market participants took profits following days of buying sparked by cold weather in the largest U.S. energy-producing state. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped 1 percent to $60.52 a barrel. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 119.68, or 0.4 percent, to 31,493.34. Seventeen of the index's 30 components dropped, led by Walmart, which plunged 6.5 percent after its fourth-quarter profit missed estimates and the retailer forecast slowing sales this year as the pandemic becomes under control. Boeing lost 3.3 percent. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 17.36, or 0.4 percent, to 3,913.97, declining for a third consecutive session. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 100.14, or 0.7 percent, to 13,865.36. Facebook dropped 1.5 percent, Tesla lost 1.35 percent, Apple was 0.8 percent lower, and Google-parent Alphabet and Netflix each declined 0.6 percent. Amazon climbed 0.6 percent.