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Update: US Equity Indexes Fall as Treasury Yields Jump With Crude Oil Ahead of Nonfarm Payrolls, Deal to Reopen Strait of Hormuz
(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes fell, with markets under pressure amid higher government bond yields and crude oil prices ahead of nonfarm payrolls and a much-awaited agreement between Iran and Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.9% to 53,885.10, with the S&P 500 down 0.2% to 7,709.96 at the close Friday. The Nasdaq Composite slipped less than 0.1% to 26,348.35. All but three sectors, energy, healthcare and technology, declined. Industrials, real estate and materials led decliners.SpaceX (SPCX) will build a vertically integrated semiconductor fabrication facility in Grimes County, Texas, Governor Greg Abbott said in a statement Thursday. Phase one of the Terafab project includes a capital investment of more than $16.8 billion, he said. Shares of SpaceX advanced 6.1%, the top gainer on the Nasdaq.Motorola Solutions (MSI) delivered a better-than-expected Q2, driven by continued outperformance from Silvus Technologies in defense markets and a surprise return to growth in its Land Mobile Radio business, Morgan Stanley said in a Thursday research note. Shares of Motorola soared 8.2%, the leader on the S&P 500.In economic news, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said companies planned to cut 33,429 jobs in July, down from 45,849 in June and 62,075 in July 2025, the lowest monthly total since July 2024."The pace of layoffs fell dramatically this summer," said Andy Challenger, the company's chief revenue officer. "Layoff plans continue to be announced primarily in tech, and artificial intelligence is still the story, as investments in the technology reshape organizations."Initial jobless claims rose to 199,000 in the week ended Aug. 1 from an upwardly revised 198,000 in the prior week, compared with the 205,000 forecast in a survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg. The four-week moving average fell by 4,500 to 198,750.Nonfarm payrolls are expected to jump to 88,000 for July, from 57,000 reported for the previous month, according to economists' estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Data are due Friday. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari (voter) would prefer a gradual rate increase sooner, perhaps as early as the September monetary policy meeting, rather than be forced to raise rates rapidly later, according to a CNBC interview Wednesday.US Treasury yields jumped on Thursday, with the 10-year yield climbing 4.7 basis points to 4.66% and the two-year higher by 6.2 basis points to 4.24%. Apart from interest rate expectations, the yields also reflected geopolitical developments.Iran will seek to bar US and Israeli ships from the Strait of Hormuz and require compensation from hostile countries before being allowed to use it, Bloomberg reported, citing local media reports on a proposed Iran-Oman deal to manage the crucial waterway. The agreement has become key to expectations for a reopening of Hormuz and a resumption of energy flows, the news report said.Iran has made a concerted diplomatic push with Gulf states, warning them explicitly that Tehran will hit their oil, power and water plants unless they convince President Donald Trump to end US strikes on Iran, Reuters reported Thursday.Front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract jumped 4.2% to $78.38 a barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent surged 5.3% to $83.67 a barrel. Both crude types traded close to their session highs.
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