Finance

The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.8% as a sharp 5.4% decline in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index weighed on the broader technology sector. While Apple shares jumped 4.8% on reports of upcoming iPhone models, heavyweights like Tesla and Meta experienced notable losses due to delivery concerns and shifting sentiment regarding artificial intelligence capacity.

Although the headline unemployment rate edged down to 4.2%, the decline was largely attributed to 720,000 workers exiting the labor force. Participation rates plummeted to 61.5%, a multi-year low that analysts suggest may be driven by a combination of accelerated retirements and discouraged job seekers.

Digital assets are showing signs of recovery after a volatile June, with Bitcoin climbing back above $61,000 and Ethereum gaining more than 5%. The rebound is being supported by institutional ETF inflows and market expectations that a cooling labor market will lead to a more dovish stance from the Federal Reserve.