FOREX UPDATE

New York - US stocks tumbled Thursday after a higher-than- expected weekly unemployment report and a drop in a key gauge of manufacturing.

The benchmark indexes opened lower following a report that the number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits increased by 17,000 to 551,000 last week.

The retreat continued after the Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index - a private barometer of business activity - dropped to 52.6 in September from 52.9 in August.