U.S. Stocks Close Lower as Tech Giants Falter
The U.S. stock market saw a mixed performance on Thursday, with the three major indexes closing down. The Dow Jones index closed down 0.67%, or 237.40 points, at 35,282.72 points. The S&P 500 index dropped 0.64%, or 29.34 points, to 4,537.41 points. The Nasdaq index decreased by 0.55%, or 77.17 points, to 14,050.11 points.
Most of the large technology stocks experienced declines, with Tesla leading the drop at over 3%. Netflix and Microsoft also fell over 2%, while Apple saw a slight decrease. On the other hand, MetaPlatforms (formerly Facebook) experienced a significant increase of over 4%, marking its largest gain in three months. Google and Amazon saw slight gains.
Chip stocks bucked the trend and saw gains, with Micron Technology, STMicroelectronics, and Applied Materials rising over 5%. ASML rose over 3%, and Nvidia rose nearly 1%. The positive performance in the chip sector was attributed to better-than-expected second-quarter revenue and third-quarter performance guidance. Intel also saw an increase of over 8% in after-hours trading following the release of its financial report.
In other sectors, the aviation, precious metals, and blockchain sectors experienced declines. Southwest Airlines fell nearly 9%, Spirit Airlines dropped over 4%, and United Airlines saw a decrease of over 2%. Cordelan Mining fell nearly 10%, while Herak Mining dropped over 7%. Pan American Silver, U.S. Gold, and Jintian also followed suit with declines. Bit Mining and Ninth City both fell by over 10%, and Ace Oasis saw a nearly 10% drop. Coinbase experienced a decrease of over 7%.
In night trading, the FTSE A50 futures index closed down 1.07%. Among popular Chinese concept stocks, Bilibili fell over 6%, while JD.com, Vipshop, and Tencent Music dropped over 2%. Alibaba, NetEase, and Baidu all saw declines of over 1%, while Li Auto saw a slight decrease. On the other hand, Xiaopeng Motors rose nearly 4%. Macquarie raised the ADR rating of Xiaopeng Motors to outperform the market, setting a target price of $18.10. iQiyi experienced an increase of over 4%, while Weilai and Pinduoduo saw slight gains.
Meanwhile, European stock markets witnessed gains across the board. The average price index of 100 stocks in the London stock market’s “Financial Times” closed at 7,692.76 points, up 0.21% from the previous trading day. The French Paris stock market’s CAC40 index closed at 7,465.24 points, marking a 2.05% increase from the prior trading day. The German Frankfurt stock market’s DAX index closed at 16,406.03 points, up 1.70% from the previous trading day.
In the commodity market, international oil prices closed higher. WTI August crude oil futures closed up 1.66% at $80.09 per barrel, while Brent crude oil futures for September closed up 1.59%, reaching $84.24 a barrel. However, in the New York Mercantile Exchange gold futures market, the most active August gold futures saw a decrease of 1.24%, closing at $1,945.7 per ounce.
In global news, the top U.S. regulators announced plans to increase capital requirements for large banks, drawing criticism from industry insiders. MetaPlatforms, formerly Facebook, experienced a sharp increase of nearly 7% following positive results and target price hikes by investment banks. The United Nations warned of the record-breaking heatwave, describing it as a global disaster. An energy fund manager warned of a potential disintegration within OPEC+, which he claimed could cause international oil prices to fall to $35 per barrel. Russian President Vladimir Putin promised free food to six African countries after a food deal with Ukraine collapsed. Sony announced that PlayStation 5 has sold over 40 million units worldwide. The U.S. economy unexpectedly accelerated in the second quarter, with inflation indicators falling more than expected. The European Central Bank raised interest rates by 25 basis points as expected.