U.S. Stocks Close Lower as Tech Sector Sell-off Hits Nasdaq

U.S. stocks closed lower on Thursday, led by a sharp drop in the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average also registered losses as weakness in several key sectors weighed on investor sentiment.

Major Indices Decline

At the close of trading, the NASDAQ Composite saw the steepest decline, falling 1.47%. The broader S&P 500 index shed 0.51%, while the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the day down 0.20%.

The downturn was driven by broad-based losses, with the Technology, Basic Materials, and Industrials sectors cited as the primary drags on performance, according to market data.

Key Movers and Market Volatility

Several prominent companies weighed on the major averages. On the Dow, shares of Goldman Sachs (GS) fell 4.91% and NVIDIA (NVDA) dropped 2.40%. The S&P 500 was pulled lower by significant losses in data storage firms, with Seagate Technology (STX) down 10.00% and Western Digital (WDC) losing 9.15%.

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Despite the overall negative close, there were some notable gainers. Abbott Laboratories (ABT) was a top performer on the S&P 500, surging 10.71%. On the Dow, Nike (NKE) rose 4.21% and IBM gained 3.79%.

Investor uncertainty appeared to be on the rise, as reflected by the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), often called the market's "fear gauge." The VIX jumped 6.64% to 16.71.

Broader Market Snapshot

In other markets, commodities were mostly lower. Gold futures for August delivery fell by approximately 1.8%, while U.S. crude oil prices for August delivery dipped 0.46%.

The U.S. Dollar Index Futures, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, strengthened, rising 0.28%.