U.S. markets ended lower on Thursday as investors digested the latest round of corporate earnings and looked for signs of progress toward a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran. Traders remained cautious as a report released by the Labor Department showed the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the US inched higher by 1,000 to 199,000 on the final week of July, slightly under market expectations of 202,000 to remain near the 57-year low of 188,000 two weeks prior. Continuing claims, which are seen as a gauge of outstanding unemployment in the US, rose by 24,000 to 1,801,000 in the earlier week, remaining well under averages from this year. However, losses remain capped as some support came with another report released by the Labor Department showed US nonfarm business sector labor productivity rose 1.4% in the second quarter of 2026, more than market expectations of a 0.6% increase, preliminary estimates showed. Output increased 1.7% and hours worked increased 0.3%. Meanwhile, manufacturing sector labor productivity increased 1.9% in the second quarter of 2026, as output increased 4.6% and hours worked increased 2.6%.
On the sectoral front, despite the lackluster performance by the broader markets, telecom stocks showed a substantial move back to the upside after falling sharply on Wednesday. Reflecting the strength in the sector, the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index spiked by 3.1 percent to a one-month closing high after tumbling by 2.5 percent in the previous session.
Nasdaq slipped 15.08 points or 0.06 percent to 26,348.35, S&P 500 fell 13.59 points or 0.18 percent to 7,709.96 and Dow Jones Industrial Average was down by 464.02 points or 0.85 percent to 53,885.1.
