U.S. markets ended lower on Thursday as oil prices surged above $100 per barrel for the first time since May amid the escalating conflict in the Middle East, while investors weighed quarterly results from two of the world’s largest companies. Alphabet’s earnings fueled concerns about increased artificial intelligence spending, while Tesla shares fell following its latest earnings report. Traders overlooked a report released by the Labor Department showed the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the US fell sank by 22,000 to 187,000 on the week to July 18th, well under expectations that it would increase to 212,000, for the lowest claim count in nearly 60 years. Continuing claims, which are seen as a gauge of outstanding unemployment in the US, fell by 2,000 to 1,796,000 on the previous week following an aggressive downward revision to the first period of July. The data continued to reflect a strong labor market in the US, aligned with statements from FOMC members that see the US economy in full employment.
On the sectoral front, Airline stocks moved sharply lower on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 3.3 percent to its lowest closing level in well over a month. Substantial weakness was also visible among retail stocks, with the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index plunging by 2.6 percent to a three-month closing low.
Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 506.93 points or 0.97 percent to 51,711.65, Nasdaq fell 553.21 points or 2.15 percent to 25,137.69 and S&P 500 decreased 90.66 points or 1.21 percent to 7,408.30.
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