Wall Street fell on Thursday as biotech stocks sank and as fears that more viewers are ditching cable TV sent media companies' shares sharply lower.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 120.72 points, or 0.69 percent, to 17,419.75, the S&P 500 lost 16.28 points, or 0.78 percent, to 2,083.56 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 83.50 points, or 1.62 percent, to 5,056.44.

And the Visual Marketplace Index also had a down day, shedding .59 points, to finish at 260.58. It was driven down largely by the media company sell off, as well as weakening confidence in most of the portfolio’s stocks with the only exception once again being Netflix.

The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits rose less than expected last week, suggesting labor market conditions are continuing to tighten.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits increased 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 270,000 for the week ended Aug. 1, the Labor Department said on Thursday. It was the 22nd consecutive week that claims held below the 300,000 threshold, which is associated with a strengthening labor market.