U.S. stock indexes fell Thursday following some potentially discouraging data on the economy.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.5% for its fourth loss in the last six days. It’s a pause for the index, which has been rallying toward one of its best years of the millennium.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 234 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.7% from its record set the day before.

A report early in the morning said more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than expected. A separate update, meanwhile, showed that inflation at the wholesale level, before it reaches U.S. consumers, was hotter last month than economists expected.

Traders are widely expecting the Fed will ease its main interest rate at its meeting next week. If they’re correct, it would be a third straight cut by the Fed after it began lowering rates in September from a two-decade high. It’s hoping to support a slowing job market after getting inflation nearly all the way down to its 2% target.

On Wall Street, Adobe fell 13.7% and was one of the heaviest weights on the market despite reporting stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

Warner Bros. Discovery soared 15.4% after unveiling a new corporate structure that separates its streaming business and film studios from its traditional television business.

Kroger rose 3.2% after saying it would get back to buying back its own stock now that its attempt to merge with Albertsons is off. Kroger’s board approved a program to repurchase up to $7.5 billion of its stock, replacing an existing $1 billion authorization.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 32.94 points to 6,051.25. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 234.55 to 43,914.12, and the Nasdaq composite sank 132.05 to 19,902.84.

In stock markets abroad, European indexes held relatively steady following the European Central Bank’s cut to rates.

In the bond market, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose to 4.33% from 4.27% late Wednesday.

— Associated Press