US close: Stocks fall, Dow snaps historic winning streak

Wall Street stocks ended in negative territory on Thursday, snapping the Dow Jones Industrial Average's longest winning streak since 1987.

The index had recorded gains for 13 consecutive sessions, but the streak ended with a 0.67% drop, closing at 35,282.72.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 declined 0.64% to settle at 4,537.41, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.55% to end the day at 14,050.11.

Thursday’s downturn comes despite an array of economic reports that exceeded expectations earlier in the day.

On the currency front, the dollar was last 0.05% stronger on sterling at 78.19p, while it advanced 0.03% to stand at 91.12 euro cents.

The greenback was also gaining against the yen, rising 0.13% to change hands at JPY 139.66.

“GDP came in much stronger than expected, as did initial jobless claims, representing the lowest figure since February,” noted Ryan Brandham at Validus Risk Management.

“These figures illustrate the resiliency of the US economy and labour market.

“The September FOMC is still relatively far away, but if the positive trend in data continues, the likelihood of another rate hike will increase.”

US economy outpaces second-quarter expectations, job market tightens

On the economic front, the American economy showed more vigorous growth than expected in the second quarter according to fresh data from the Department of Commerce.

On a seasonally-adjusted basis, the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) posted a quarterly annualised expansion of 2.4%.

That outperformed the growth of 2.0% projected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.

However, household consumption failed to meet expectations, showing an increase at a rate of 1.6%, slightly under the 1.8% forecasted by Bank of America.

On the employment front, the US job market showed signs of tightening over the previous week, defying expectations.

Data from the Department of Labor indicated that initial unemployment claims decreased by 7,000 for the week ended 22 July, landing at 221,000.

That outperformed the forecasted figure of 235,000 by economists.

Furthermore, the four-week moving average, designed to minimise data volatility, fell by 3,750 to reach 233,750.

Meanwhile, continuing claims saw a decrease of 59,000 to 1.69 million.

The US trade deficit in goods with the rest of the world contracted more than anticipated last month.

Seasonally-adjusted figures from the Department of Commerce showed a 4.4% month-on-month reduction in the goods trade deficit to $87.8bn, beating economist forecasts of a $91.5bn deficit.

While exports increased by 0.2% compared to May, reaching $162.5bn, imports decreased by 1.4% to $250.3bn.

Lastly, the nation saw a substantial increase in orders for durable goods - items intended to last for three years or more - last month, primarily fuelled by civilian jet orders.

Seasonally-adjusted durable goods orders leaped at a month-on-month pace of 4.7% to reach $302.5bn, far surpassing the predicted 1.5% rise.

Excluding the transportation sector, orders grew by 0.6%, in contrast with the forecasted stagnation.

Transportation orders, driven by a 69.4% rise in civilian aircraft and parts, climbed by 12.1% to $115.3bn.

Furthermore, capital goods orders, excluding defence and aircraft, increased by 0.2% to $74.1bn, defying the predicted 0.1% decline.

Meta Platforms soars as eBay, Southwest and Chipotle falter

In equity markets, Facebook parent Meta Platforms climbed 4.4% on the back of the social media giant's impressive quarterly results, which beat Wall Street's expectations.

On the downside, eBay shares plummeted 10.53% after a softer-than-expected earnings outlook was released overnight.

Southwest Airlines shares also faced turbulence, with the low-cost carrier's stock dropping 8.94%.

The company disclosed that its earnings had not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels, causing investor confidence to wane.

Chipotle Mexican Grill didn't fare well either, as shares of the fast-casual restaurant chain dropped by 9.81%.

The company, known for its popular burrito offerings, blamed the inflationary environment for impacting the pricing of its most popular menu items.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

Dow Jones - Risers

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $54.97 2.31%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $142.96 1.35%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $295.19 1.18%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $173.69 0.56%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $34.55 0.55%
Boeing Co. (BA) $233.75 0.41%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $174.87 0.41%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $236.05 0.36%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $329.73 0.04%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%

Dow Jones - Fallers

American Express Co. (AXP) $163.60 -2.47%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $33.55 -2.30%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $330.72 -2.09%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $105.27 -1.75%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $107.67 -1.49%
3M Co. (MMM) $111.19 -1.29%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $152.11 -1.19%
Visa Inc. (V) $234.44 -1.12%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $156.02 -1.10%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $159.66 -1.04%

S&P 500 - Risers

Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $385.31 13.38%
Textron Inc. (TXT) $76.52 11.87%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $701.95 9.28%
Royal Caribbean Cr (RCL) $109.68 8.72%
Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. (BFH) $39.41 8.27%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $62.15 7.21%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $41.68 7.20%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $45.35 5.69%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $71.07 5.48%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $482.35 5.35%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Fiserv Inc. (FI) $0.00 -100.00%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $43.66 -10.53%
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) $1,882.98 -9.81%
Edwards Lifesciences Corp. (EW) $82.67 -9.78%
Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) $33.02 -8.94%
Rollins Inc. (ROL) $40.82 -8.88%
Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (WTW) $212.25 -8.88%
S&P Global Inc Com (SPGI) $395.68 -7.64%
Baxter International Inc. (BAX) $45.48 -7.09%
Coty Inc. Class A (COTY) $11.61 -6.45%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $385.31 13.38%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $701.95 9.28%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $62.15 7.21%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $41.68 7.20%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $45.35 5.69%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $71.07 5.48%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $482.35 5.35%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $146.14 5.12%
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $311.71 4.40%
Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $708.12 3.48%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Fiserv Inc. (FI) $0.00 -100.00%
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $43.66 -10.53%
O'Reilly Automotive Inc. (ORLY) $919.61 -4.76%
Qurate Retail Inc. (QRTEA) $1.00 -3.85%
Dish Network Corp. (DISH) $6.98 -3.32%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $255.71 -3.27%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $9.71 -3.19%
JD.com, Inc. (JD) $37.98 -2.94%
Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $231.46 -2.34%
Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $504.55 -2.32%