On Thursday, the NASDAQ index fell for a fourth consecutive day, sagging 183.57 points, or 1.3%, to 13,688.91, as Wall Street's concerns over the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy path intensified. The Dow Jones Industrials and the S&P 500 also experienced fluctuations, with the former recovering 33.8 points to pause for lunch at 34,476.99 and the latter sliding 22.14 points to 4,443.34.
Apple shares (NASDAQ:AAPL) dropped 3% following a Bloomberg News report that China is considering expanding a ban on the use of iPhones in state-owned companies and agencies. This news also impacted other technology and semiconductor stocks, with Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) each down more than 2%.
In corporate earnings news, C3.ai's shares slid 12% after reporting lower-than-expected gross margin in the recent quarter, while ChargePoint Holdings plunged 17% after missing revenue estimates.
Economic data released on Thursday added to market jitters. Fewer-than-expected jobless claims at 216,000 against Dow Jones' expectation of 230,000 and higher-than-anticipated second-quarter labor costs raised fears that the strong labor market may cause the Federal Reserve to reconsider its current tight monetary policy stance.
Despite these concerns, 93% of interest rate traders predict no change at September's Federal Open Market Committee meeting. However, expectations for an additional interest rate hike at the November meeting have increased to 45%.
In other financial news, prices for the 10-year Treasury gained ground, lowering yields to 4.28% from Wednesday's 4.29%. Oil prices dipped three cents to $87.51 U.S. a barrel, while gold prices remained static at $1,944.20 U.S. an ounce.
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