Tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 73.27 points (0.4%) to 21,242.70, the S&P 500 edged down 5.06 points (0.1%) to 6,340.00 and the Dow fell 224.48 points (0.5%) to 43,968.64.
Wall Street opened strong after President Donald Trump announced a 100% tariff on imported semiconductors and chips, exempting companies manufacturing in the U.S. Apple gained 3.2% as CEO Tim Cook confirmed a $100 billion U.S. investment, but gains faded amid concerns over broader trade policy impacts. Intel fell 3% after Trump urged CEO Lip Bu Tan to resign, calling him highly conflicted.
Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by more than expected in the week ended August 2nd. It also said initial jobless claims climbed to 226,000, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week's revised level of 219,000. It also released a separate report showed a significant rebound by labor productivity in the second quarter.
Most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves, pharmaceutical stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index down by 2.1% to its lowest closing level in nearly three months. Eli Lilly (LLY) led the sector lower, plunging by 14.1% despite reporting better than expected second quarter results and raising its full-year guidance. Results from a late-stage trial of the company's obesity pill seemingly disappointed investors.
Oil service stocks was considerably weak amid a decrease by the price of crude oil, with the Philadelphia Oil Service Index falling by 1.4%. Software and transportation stocks was notably weak while semiconductor, utilities and computer hardware stocks turned in strong performances.
Asia-Pacific stocks moved mostly higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.7% while China's Shanghai Composite Index crept up by 0.2%. The major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.7%, the French CAC 40 Index jumped by 1.0% and the German DAX Index shot up by 1.1%.
In the bond market, treasuries moved to the downside over the course of the session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note which moves opposite of its price, rose 2.4 bps to 4.24%.