Dow Jones sole riser, records highest close in nine sessions

Most US stocks erased their early gains on July 30, on the heels of the start of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting, with investors hoping Chairman Jerome Powell will signal when and how often interest rate cuts are expected. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 203 points, or 0.50%, to close at 40,743, the highest since July 17 (41,198). 

The S&P 500 Index lost 27 points, or 0.50%, to finish at 5,436, while the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.30%, or 222 points, to settle at 17,147. 

S&P 500 IT Sector Index plunged by 2.20%, with shares of NVIDIA, Qualcomm and Arm Holdings falling by 7%, 6.55% and 6%, respectively. 

Elsewhere, the STOXX Europe 600 Index edged up 0.45% to 514 points. 

FTSE 100 shed 0.2% to 8,274 points, while Germany’s DAX 40 Index increased 0.5% to 18,411 points. The CAC 40 Index inched up nearly 0.4% to 7,474 points. 

The Nikkei 225 gained 0.15% to 38,525 points, and TOPIX edged down 0.2% to 2,754 points. 

In the oil market, Brent crude futures for September delivery slumped 1.45%, or $1.15, to $78.63 a barrel.

Meanwhile, WTI crude for September delivery dropped 1.4%, or $1.08, to $74.73 a barrel.

As for gold, the prices of gold futures for December delivery rose by 1.10%, or $26.4, to $2,451.9 per ounce.