US Equity Indexes, Treasury Yields Mixed in Midday Trading

12:34 PM EDT, 08/07/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes and government bond yields traded mixed in midday trading on Thursday as investors weighed the proposed 100% tariffs on semiconductor imports and gains in weekly jobless claims.

The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.4% to 21,248.1, while the S&P 500 fell 0.1% to 6,335.2 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.8% to 43,869.5. All sectors except utilities, technology, and energy retreated intraday. Healthcare and financials were the standout decliners.

President Donald Trump suggested a potential carveout from upcoming semiconductor tariffs, saying companies could avoid the proposed 100% punitive import levy by committing to build manufacturing facilities in the US.

Meanwhile, initial jobless claims rose to 226,000 in the week ended Aug. 2 from an upwardly revised 219,000 in the previous week, compared with expectations for 222,000 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

Consumer expectations for one-year US inflation growth rose to a 3.1% gain in July from a 3.0% gain in the previous month, according to a survey released by the New York Federal Reserve Bank on Thursday.

US Treasury yields traded mixed, with the 10-year yield up 1 basis point to 4.23%. The yield on the two-year rose 2.3 basis points to 3.72%.

Separately, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to meet in the "coming days," BBC reported, citing the Kremlin. It follows the US president saying there was a "good chance" he could meet his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts together in person "very soon" to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.

in Federal Reserve news, Governor Christopher Waller is emerging as a top candidate to serve as the central bank's chair among Trump's advisers as they look for a replacement for Jerome Powell, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Trump advisers are impressed with Waller's willingness to move on policy based on forecasting, rather than current data, and his deep knowledge of the Fed system as a whole, the people told Bloomberg.

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