Health Care Losses, Inflation Weigh on Wall Street

U.S. stocks closed lower on Thursday, with the S&P 500 falling 0.4% for its third consecutive decline, the Dow dropping 0.7%, and the Nasdaq slipping less than 0.1%. The health care sector led the pullback following the White House's release of letters urging major pharmaceutical firms, including Eli Lilly, UnitedHealth Group, and Bristol-Myers Squibb, to cut prices within 60 days. Big Tech stocks were a bright spot, as Meta Platforms surged over 11% and Microsoft climbed nearly 4% after strong earnings and investment in artificial intelligence. Despite the day's losses, the S&P 500 notched a 2.2% gain for July and is up 7.8% year-to-date. U.S. inflation, measured by the personal consumption expenditures index, rose 2.6% in June from a year earlier—slightly above expectations and the Federal Reserve's 2% target. The Fed left interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive meeting, and the market remains volatile amid mixed earnings reports and persistent inflation concerns.