Stock Market Today: S&P500 closes lower as tech continues to lose steam

he S&P 500 slumped for a second-straight day Thursday, pressured by wild swings as the early-day rebound in tech faded amid an ongoing rotation out of high-flying megacap tech stocks ahead of earnings from Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX).

At 16:00 ET (20:00 GMT), The S&P 500 fell 0.8%, and NASDAQ Composite fell 0.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 533 points, or 1.3%. The weakness comes amid a fresh bout of volatility as the VIX, or so-called fear index, jumped 10% to the highest levels since April.

Tech reverses early-day gains; Netflix guidance falls short
Megacap tech stocks including Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) added to recent losses pressuring the broader market amid an ongoing rotation out of megacap tech just ahead of earnings from Netflix.

NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), however, bucked the trend rising 2% as investors appeared to buy the recent dip in the chipmaker despite ongoing jitters about deeper US chip ban.

Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) fell 1% in afterhours Thursday after the streaming giant reported Q3 revenue guidance that fell short of estimates and overshadowed better-than-expected Q2 results.

Lastest jobless claims show further signs of slowing labor market
The number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, climbing 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 243,000 for the week ended July 13, the Labor Department said on Thursday, above the 229,000 claims expected.

Claims were revised lower in the prior week, but the unemployment rate rose to a 2-1/2-year high of 4.1% in June.

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This suggests the labor market is cooling as the Federal Reserve’s interest rate increases in 2022 and 2023 slow demand.

Investors are pricing in a more than 91% chance of a 25-basis point interest rate cut from the Fed by its September meeting, according to CME’s FedWatch.

DR Horton impresses on earnings stage, but Domino’s Pizza misses
DR Horton (NYSE:DHI) stock jumped 10% after the homebuilder beat estimates for quarterly profit, and also approved a new share buyback authorization totaling $4 billion.

Domino’s Pizza (NYSE:DPZ) stock slumped 13% after the pizza chain missed estimates for quarterly same-store sales, as inflation worries discouraged U.S. consumers.

United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL) fell 1% as Q3 guidance that fell short of Wall Street estimates after unveiling plans to cut capacity despite strong summer travel demand. The airline also reported Q2 earnings that topped estimates.

Warner Bros Discovery weighing breakup, Beyond Meat under fire
Warner Bros Discovery Inc (NASDAQ:WBD) rose 2% after the Financial Times reported that the company is weighing plans to spin off its digital streaming and studio businesses from its legacy TV business to deal with the company’s $39B debt load.

Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) stock dropped 10% following a report the plant-based meat producer has engaged with bondholders to begin discussions about restructuring its balance sheet.