The three major U.S. stock indices closed with mixed results amidst significant market volatility throughout the day. A sharp sell-off towards the end of the trading session indicated that investor panic has not subsided, suggesting the potential for further turbulence ahead.

Major Indices Movement

At the close, the Dow Jones rose 81.20 points, or 0.20%, to 39,935.07 points;

Nasdaq fell 160.69 points, or 0.93%, to 17,181.72 points;

S&P 500 dropped 27.91 points, or 0.51%, to 5,399.22 points.

Following the most severe sell-off since 2022, large-cap tech stocks continued to plummet at Thursday's open, followed by a rapid recovery attempt. However, the rebound was ultimately unsuccessful, with only Tesla among the seven major tech stocks closing in positive territory.

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the annualized quarterly growth rate of the U.S. GDP for Q2 was 2.8%, significantly higher than the expected 2%. Additionally, the preliminary annualized quarterly growth rate of the Q2 core PCE price index was 2.9%. Although higher than the anticipated 2.7%, it showed a noticeable decline compared to Q1 and the same period last year.

The market's current focus is on the PCE inflation data to be released on Friday, which will influence the Federal Reserve's policy direction. If the data indicates easing price pressures, it will be a major positive for the market; however, if anti-inflation progress is lacking, it could intensify the selling pressure on U.S. stocks.

Hot Stocks Performance

Most large-cap tech stocks declined, with Google down more than 3%, Microsoft down over 2%, Meta and Nvidia down over 1%, and slight declines for Apple, Netflix, and Amazon. Tesla rose about 2%.

Ford's $Ford Motor Company F$ stock price plummeted over 18%, marking the largest single-day drop in over 15 years. The company attributed its significantly underwhelming performance to soaring warranty costs for older vehicles. Persistent quality issues have driven up Ford's warranty costs, with the $800 million surge in Q2 catching investors by surprise.

Biotech company Viking Therapeutics $Viking Therapeutics, Inc. VKTX$ saw a surge of over 28% as its subcutaneous injection drug "VK2735" for weight loss is set to enter phase III trials after showing positive results in phase II.

STMicroelectronics $STMicroelectronics NV ADR RegS STM$ fell over 15%, as a sluggish automotive market led the auto semiconductor giant to cut its revenue guidance for the second time this year.

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