Major US stock indices closed lower on Thursday. Chip stocks led the decline, with investor concerns over Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing's (TSM) increased full-year capital expenditure forecast overshadowing its better-than-expected second-quarter results. The company now anticipates capital expenditures for the year to be in the range of $60 to $64 billion, up from its previous guidance of $52 to $56 billion. Its shares closed down 2.3%.
In other news, US Central Command stated that at 2:00 PM Eastern Time on Thursday, US forces began a sixth consecutive night of new strikes against Iran, aiming to further degrade its military capabilities.
Regarding the major indices, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 105.67 points, or 0.20%, to close at 52,552.97. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 387.28 points, or 1.47%, to 25,881.95. The S&P 500 index declined 38.64 points, or 0.51%, ending the session at 7,533.76.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell over 4%. SK Hynix ADR (SKHY) closed down 13.6%, SanDisk (SNDK) dropped 12.6%, Micron Technology (MU) fell 5.6%, Alphabet (GOOG) declined over 4%, and NVIDIA (NVDA) shed more than 2%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index gained 1.8%, with Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) rising 4%.
In European markets, Germany's DAX 30 index fell 109.82 points, or 0.44%, to 24,908.99. The UK's FTSE 100 index rose 54.63 points, or 0.52%, to 10,570.55. France's CAC 40 index dipped 4.57 points, or 0.05%, to 8,377.86.
Asian markets saw significant losses, with Japan's Nikkei 225 index falling 2.79% and South Korea's KOSPI index dropping 6.37%.
The US Dollar Index, which measures the dollar against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.27% to settle at 100.76. In late New York trading, the euro traded at $1.14, down from $1.15 the previous day. The British pound was at $1.35, unchanged from the prior session. The dollar bought 162.39 Japanese yen, up from 162.05, and traded at 0.8089 Swiss francs, up from 0.8047.
In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin hovered around $64,000, falling over 1% to $64,162.01 at the time of writing. Ethereum declined more than 2% to $1,879.43.
Oil prices edged lower. The August West Texas Intermediate crude contract fell 65 cents, or 0.82%, to settle at $78.95 per barrel. The September Brent crude contract dropped 72 cents, or 0.85%, to close at $84.23 per barrel.
Spot gold fell below the $4,000 per ounce level, trading at $3,976.63. Spot silver was at $55.55 per ounce.
On the macroeconomic front, Federal Reserve official Logan stated that the central bank should raise interest rates to combat persistent inflation, a comment suggesting she may oppose a decision to hold rates steady later this month. Logan noted that while June's inflation data indicated a potential slowdown in price increases, it was not sufficient to convince her that inflation is firmly on a path back to the Fed's 2% target.
US mortgage rates climbed to 6.55%, reaching their highest level since August 2025, as renewed tensions in the Middle East stoked inflation concerns. This marks the second consecutive weekly increase, tracking higher US Treasury yields following the breakdown of a temporary peace agreement between the US and Iran.
In corporate news, Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) is reportedly months behind schedule in delivering its flagship AI model, Gemini 3.5 Pro, as its technical capabilities have not met internal targets. The delay has caused frustration within the company, with concerns about losing ground to competitors like Anthropic and OpenAI.
Wall Street investment banks conducted their largest round of quarterly layoffs in six years during the second quarter. Major firms including Bank of America (BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC), Citigroup (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), and Morgan Stanley (MS) collectively reduced headcount by over 10,000 employees. Many firms are focusing on cost control, with Citigroup notably streamlining its workforce as part of a broader effort to improve returns.
Comments