US markets end deeply in red on Thursday

02 Aug 2024 Evaluate

The US markets ended deeply in red on Thursday as some disappointing data led to concerns about the outlook for the U.S. economy, offsetting optimism about a near-term interest rate cut by Federal Reserve. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) released a report showing U.S. manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted at an accelerated rate in the month of July. The ISM said its manufacturing PMI fell to 46.8 in July from 48.5 in June, with a reading below 50 indicating contraction. Street had expected the index to inch up to 48.8 percent. With the bigger than expected decrease, the manufacturing PMI dropped to its lowest level since hitting 46.6 in November 2023. The Labor Department also released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose to their highest level in almost a year in the week ended July 27th. 

The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 249,000, an increase of 14,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 235,000. Street had expected jobless claims to inch up to 236,000. With the bigger than expected increase, jobless claims reached their highest level since hitting 258,000 in the week ended August 5, 2023. On the sectoral front, Semiconductor stocks saw a substantial pullback following the rally seen in the previous session, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunging by 7.1 percent. Airline stocks also showed a significant move to the downside, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 5.6 percent. Considerable weakness was also visible among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 4.0 percent nosedive by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index.

Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 494.82 points or 1.21 percent to 40,347.97, Nasdaq dropped 405.26 points or 2.3 percent to 17,194.15 and S&P 500 was down by 75.62 points or 1.37 percent to 5,446.68.  


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