U.S. stocks closed lower on Thursday as tension between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) persisted.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 204.69 points, or 0.93 percent, to 21,844.01. The S&P 500 erased 35.81 points, or 1.45 percent, to 2,438.21. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 135.46 points, or 2.13 percent, to 6,216.87.

Earlier this week, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a warning to the DPRK that appeared to threaten a nuclear war with the Asian country. In response, the DPRK warned of preemptive strikes against the U.S. military base of Guam in the Pacific.

Analysts said the news made investors a little uneasy and thus weighed on the market.

On the U.S. economic front, in the week ending August 5, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial jobless claims was 244,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The latest reading was higher than market expectations.

The Department said in another report on Thursday that the U.S. producer price index (PPI) for final demand slipped 0.1 percent last month, reversing June's 0.1 percent gain. July's drop missed market consensus of a 0.1-percent gain and was the largest decline since August 2016.

Traders also kept an eye on corporate earnings reports on Thursday, as U.S. retailer Macy's and Kohl's both reported better-than-expected quarterly results.