The Dow walked away with another loss, falling triple digits and locking in its fourth-straight dip. Wall Street continued to weigh the potential impact of the Delta variant of Covid-19 on economic reopening plans, as several major airlines lowered their forecasts amid an uptick in virus cases. In addition, the Federal Reserve provided key updates this week, while an upbeat weekly jobless claims showed first-time filing for unemployment hit a new pandemic low. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both landed more modestly in the red, while the former also notched its fourth day of losses.

The Dow Jones Average (DJI - 34,879.38) fell 151.7 points or 0.4%. Of the 30 Dow components, Nike (NKE) led the list of seven winners after adding 1.6%. Meanwhile, Amgen (AMGN) paced the laggards with a 2.4% dip. 

The S&P 500 Index (SPX- 4,493.28) lost 20.8 points or 0.5%, while the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 15,248.25) shed 38.4 points, or 0.3%. 

Lastly, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 18.80) added 0.8 points or 4.7%.

OIL PRICES FALL AS CHINA MOVES TO RELEASE RESERVES

Oil pulled back today after news rolled in that China plans to release state oil reserves. In addition, the U.S. saw a smaller-than-expected weekly crude draw. In response, October-dated crude fell $1.16, or 1.7%, to settle at $68.14 a barrel. 

The previously strengthening dollar took a breather today, putting some wind in gold's sails. However, the threat of early economic tapering from the Federal Reserve kept a lid on bullion's gains. As a result, December-dated gold added $6.50, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,800 an ounce.