Stocks open lower on ThursdayJobless claims higher than expected; Philadelphia factory output weakens
Jobseekers during a Hospitality House career fair in San Francisco, California, US, on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Initial unemployment benefit filings saw a bump last week though layoffs still appear to be limited, according to a Labor Department report Thursday.
Jobless claims totaled 235,000 for the week ending Aug. 16, up 11,000 from the prior period and higher than the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 225,000. It was the highest level since June 21 though still within the range of the past few years.
Continuing claims, which run a week behind, rose to 1.97 million, an increase of 30,000 and the highest level since Nov. 6, 2021.
In other economic news Thursday, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve’s manufacturing index for August posted an unexpectedly weak reading of -0.3, down from 15.9 the prior month and below the estimate for 7.0. The new orders index slid to -1.9 while the prices paid index hit its highest level since May 2022. The index measures companies reporting growth against contraction.
—Jeff Cox
Stocks making the biggest moves premarket
Check out some of the companies making headlines in premarket trading.
- Walmart — The big-box retailer slipped more than 2% . Walmart fiscal second-quarter revenue beat analyst estimates. Adjusted earnings of 68 cents per share may not have compared with the LSEG consensus estimate of 74 cents. The country’s largest retailer raised its full-year earnings and sales outlook, also noting that costs are rising due to higher tariffs.
- Nordson Corp. — The adhesive and coatings maker rallied more than 5% on better-than-expected earnings and revenue. Nordson said that full-year sales are currently tracking slightly above the midpoint of its original guidance given earlier this year.
Read the full list here.
— Brian Evans
Trump says U.S. will not approve solar or wind power projects
Mint Images | Mint Images Rf | Getty Images
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said his administration will not approve solar or wind power projects, even as electricity demand is outpacing the supply in some parts of the U.S. His comments will likely heighten concerns of renewable companies, which fear that projects will no longer receive permits that were once normal course of business.
“We will not approve wind or farmer destroying Solar,” Trump, who has complained in the past that solar takes up too much land, posted on Truth Social. “The days of stupidity are over in the USA!!!”
The president’s comment comes after the administration tightened federal permitting for renewables last month. The permitting process is now centralized in Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s office.
Trump blamed renewables for rising electricity prices in the U.S. Prices have risen on the nation’s largest grid, PJM Interconnection, as rapidly growing demand from data centers and other industries faces a tight power supply as resources such as coal plants are retired. More here.
— Pia Singh, Spencer Kimball
U.S., EU spell out tariffs for autos, pharmaceuticals
The U.S. and European Union revealed more details about the trade framework agreed upon last month.
The U.S. will commit to applying “the higher of either the U.S. Most Favored Nation (MFN) tariff rate or a tariff rate of 15 percent, comprised of the MFN tariff and a reciprocal tariff, on originating goods of the European Union.”
The U.S. will apply only MFN duties on several EU goods, including “unavailable natural resources (including cork), all aircraft and aircraft parts, generic pharmaceuticals and their ingredients and chemical precursors.”
Several Section 232 tariffs have been capped at the wider 15% tariff rate, including those on lumber, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, according to a senior U.S. administration official.
— Sophie Kiderlin, Sam Meredith, Karen Gilchrist
Australia stocks rise over 1%, crossing 9,000 threshold for the first time
Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose, with Australian stocks among the top gainers, breaking ranks with key Wall Street peers that saw declines led by tech stocks.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 benchmark rose 1.13% to end the day at a record high of 9,019. Gains were led by food company OMG Group, which surged 114.29%, printing and technology firm 333D, which jumped 55.56% and battery technology manufacturer Janus Electric Holdings, which rose 46.47%.
Over in India, the HSBC Composite flash purchasing managers’ index, which provides an early snapshot of the performance of the private sector economy, came in at 65.2, higher than July’s 61.1 and the 60.5 forecast by Reuters.
Indian markets rose in early trade with the benchmark Nifty 50 trading 0.21% higher, while the BSE Sensex index was up 0.35% as of 1:30 p.m. Indian Standard time (4 a.m. ET).
Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell for the third straight session and ended the day 0.65% lower at 42,610.17. Losses were led by Daiichi Sankyo, Socionext and Lasertec Corp.
Meanwhile, the broader Topix index dropped 0.52% to 3,082.95.
Yields on Japan’s 20-year government bonds rose to 2.645%, after hitting a 26-year high earlier in the session. Yields on the 10-year government bonds ticked up to a 17-year high of 1.61%.
In South Korea, the Kospi index pared earlier gains to rise 0.37% at 3,141.74, while the small-cap Kosdaq was flat at 777.24.
Mainland China’s CSI 300 increased by 0.39% to 4,28807, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was down 0.2% to 25,116.51.
— Amala Balakrishner
The 8 most valuable U.S. stocks all fell Wednesday. The next 7 all rose
A sign is posted in front of a Broadcom office in San Jose, California, on Dec. 12, 2024.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
The farther down the S&P 500 one looked Wednesday, the more green on the screen.
All eight of the largest companies in the S&P 500 — consisting of the Mag Seven plus Broadcom, which are also the only eight that have a market value above $1 trillion — fell on Wednesday. The declines ranged from just 0.14% for Nvidia, the most valuable stock in the U.S., worth some $4.3 trillion, up to 1.97% for Apple, the third most highly-valued stock, after Microsoft (-0.79%).
Meanwhile, the next seven stocks with the highest market caps, all rose in price Wednesday. They were led by Walmart, with a market cap of $819 billion, ahead 1.26%. Oracle gained 0.19%, bringing the company’s market cap to $660 billion. The smallest stock in that second cohort of advancers was Mastercard, worth $536 billion, which rose 1.22%.
— Scott Schnipper
Fed Governor Lisa Cook says she won’t be ‘bullied’ into resigning from her post
Lisa Cook testifies before a Senate Banking Committee hearing on her nomination to be a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors (for a second term), on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 21, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook said on Wednesday that she has “no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet.”
Cook’s comments come after Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, said she should resign or be fired over what he claimed was evidence of “mortgage fraud.”
“To be honest, I think she needs to resign quickly,” Pulte said of Cook on CNBC’s “Money Movers.” “I think she will have to resign, or I think she will be fired.”
Responding to Pulte’s unsubstantiated accusation, President Donald Trump also said in a Truth Social post that Cook “must resign, now!!!”
Read the latest on this story here.
— Kevin Breuninger, Darla Mercado
Coty shares plunge after weak forecast
Coty shares tanked more than 15% in extended trading after the beauty retailer’s management forecast a weak first half of fiscal year of 2026 with declines in both sales and profit.
Still, Coty sees a turnaround in the second half as new product launches and tariff mitigation kicks in. For the latest quarter, Coty reported revenue of $1.25 billion, higher than the $1.20 billion estimate per LSEG.
— Yun Li