US markets end lower on Thursday

28 Jul 2023 Evaluate

The US markets ended lower on Thursday as investors cashed in following recent gains. However, the early strength on markets partly reflected a positive reaction to upbeat earnings news, with Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META) leading the rally by the Nasdaq. Shares of Meta pulled back off their best levels but still surged by 4.4 percent after the company better than expected second quarter results and provided upbeat guidance. Fast food giant McDonald's (MCD) also jumped by 1.2 percent after reporting second quarter results that beat analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines. On the sectoral front, Gold stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the session, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 4.1 percent. The sell-off by gold stocks came amid a steep drop by the price of the precious metal, with gold for August delivery tumbling $24.40 to $1,945.70 an ounce.

On the economic data front, U.S. economic growth unexpectedly accelerated in the second quarter of 2023, the Commerce Department revealed in a preliminary report released. The report said real gross domestic product surged by 2.4 percent in the second quarter after jumping by 2.0 percent in the first quarter. Street had expected the pace of GDP growth to slow to 1.8 percent. The Commerce Department said the unexpected acceleration in GDP growth primarily reflected an upturn in private inventory investment and an acceleration in nonresidential fixed investment. The positive contributions were partly offset by a downturn in exports and decelerations in consumer spending, federal government spending, and state and local government spending.

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 237.4 points or 0.67 percent to 35,282.72, Nasdaq lost 77.18 points or 0.55 percent to 14,050.11 and S&P 500 was down by 29.34 points or 0.64 percent to 4,537.41.

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