NEW YORK, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday, as investors digested a batch of negative data that pointed to slowing U.S. economic activity and grew concerned over U.S.-China trade prospects.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 280.85 points, or 1.05 percent, to 26,583.42. The S&P 500 was down 26.82 points, or 0.90 percent, to 2,953.56. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 64.30 points, or 0.79 percent, to 8,111.12.
Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors traded lower around market close, with the financials sector down nearly 2.1 percent, leading the losers.
The overwhelming majority of the 30 blue-chip stocks in the Dow also extended losses, with shares of Goldman Sachs Group down nearly 3.9 percent, among the worst performers.
The Cboe Volatility index, widely considered the best fear gauge in the stock market, increased 10.86 percent to 17.87 on Thursday.
More specifically, shares of Caterpillar and Intel, both sensitive to global trade, fell 3.71 percent and 2.08 percent respectively. Shares of 3M lost 0.78 percent.
Yet shares of Yum Brands rose over 3.9 percent, as the U.S. fast food chain reported second-quarter earnings that topped market estimates.
On the economic front, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing index fell to 51.2 in July from June's 51.7, the lowest reading since August 2016, ISM said on Thursday.
The reading indicated that the U.S. manufacturing sector expanded at its slowest pace over the past three years.
Initial jobless claims, or the number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits, rose moderately to 215,000 in the week ending July 27, said the Labor Department on Thursday.
The reading marked an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's level, which was revised up by 1,000 to 207,000.
On Wednesday, the Fed cut its interest rates range by a quarter point, which marked the first time since December 2008, when rates were reduced close to zero during the global financial crisis.
During a press conference the same day, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that the central bank's cut was a "mid-cycle adjustment," adding that the action is "not the beginning of a long series of rate cuts."
The remarks rocked the market, erasing all the gains of the three major indexes on Wednesday and sank the Dow by a tumble of over 470 points at one point, marking its worst day since May. Enditem
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