Stocks fell Thursday as investors continued to pare positions in high-flying technology names while taking profit on recent runs elsewhere.
The Dow Jones Industrials gave up much of their gains posted this week, dropping 533.06 points, or 1.3%, to 40,664.02
The S&P 500 index jettisoned 43.68 points to 5,544.59.
The NASDAQ dumped 125.7 points to 17,871.22.
With Thursday’s moves, the Dow was the only of the three major indexes tracking for week-to-date gains with an advance of more than 1%.
The S&P 500 has slipped around 1.2% since the start of the week, while the NASDAQ Composite has slipped almost 3% amid the tech selloff.
The NASDAQ’s underperformance marks a continuation of the broader shift away from tech seen in recent days. Wall Street has dumped shares of artificial intelligence plays as the growing likelihood of a September interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve bolstered optimism in the broader market. On the other hand, that’s largely helped small-cap and more cyclical names, which are seen as bigger beneficiaries of lower borrowing costs.
This trend came to a head on Wednesday, when the NASDAQ tumbled 2.8% in its worst day since December 2022. Wednesday also marked the first session since 2001 where the NASDAQ posted a loss exceeding 2.5%, while the blue-chip Dow registered a gain. On the other
hand, the Dow was propelled to its first-ever closing level above 41,000 in the session.
Thursday’s trading offers a respite from recent days, with Wall Street shares of artificial intelligence plays as the growing likelihood of a September interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve bolstered optimism in the broader market. That’s particularly helped small-cap and more cyclical names, which are seen as bigger beneficiaries to lower borrowing costs.
In corporate news, Discover Financial popped 2% after its second-quarter results topped expectations. Beyond Meat tumbled close to 11% after The Wall Street Journal reported that the meat substitute company is meeting with bondholders to begin discussions about restructuring its balance sheet.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury waned, raising yields to 4.20% from Wednesday’s 4.15%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices slid 61 cents at $82.24 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices retreated $13.20 to $2,446.70.
