<p>Main U.S. indexes red; Nasdaq hit hardest, down ~2%</p>
<p>Real Est leads S&amp;P sector gainers; Tech weakest group</p>
<p>Dollar up; gold slips; crude off ~1%; bitcoin off &gt;2%</p>
<p>U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield slides to ~3.98% Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at</p>
<h3>U.S. STOCKS REVERSE, TURN SHARPLY NEGATIVE AFTER WEAK DATA</h3>
<p>U.S. stock indexes have turned decidedly negative in the aftermath of some weak economic data prints.</p>
<p>Before the open, initial jobless claims came in at 249k vs a 236k estimate. Stocks pushed higher initially with the S&amp;P 500 index  (.SPX)  hitting its intraday high at 945 ET, which coincided with the release of July ISM manufacturing PMI, which came in at 46.8 vs a consensus forecast of 48.8. At 1000 ET, June construction spending also came in below the estimate.</p>
<p>Matthew Martin, U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, wrote in a client note that the decline in the ISM manufacturing to its lowest point since November confirms the sector is still struggling from high interest rates and slowing demand.</p>
<p>He believes some of these pressures will abate if the Federal Reserve begins its rate cutting campaign in September. But even then, it will take time for lower borrowing costs and easing credit conditions to work their way through the system, he writes.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, concerns over the economy, in the wake of the Fed leaving rates unchanged on Wednesday, are taking their toll.</p>
<p>The S&amp;P 500  (.SPX)  and Dow  (.DJI)  are now both down more than 1% each. The Nasdaq  (.IXIC)  is off nearly 2%.</p>
<p>S&amp;P 500 sectors are mixed, with defensive groups showing strength, and more economically sensitive groups declining.</p>
<p>Under the surface, chips  (.SOX) , regional banks  (.KRX) , and small caps  (.RUT)  are among those groups taking especially big hits.</p>
<p>The U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield  (US10YT=RR)  has broken below 4.0% and has hit its lowest level since early February. The yield is also on track to fall for a sixth day in a row. The yield fell six-straight days with a streak that ended in early June.</p>
<p>Apple  (AAPL.O)  and Amazon.com  (AMZN.O)  are due to report quarterly results after the closing bell, and markets are bracing for the July jobs report on Friday morning.</p>
<p>Here is a snapshot of where markets stood around 1249 ET (1649 GMT):</p>
<p>(Terence Gabriel)</p>
<h3>FOR THURSDAY’S EARLIER LIVE MARKETS POSTS:</h3>
<h3>CHIPS TANK AS ARM THROWS WRENCH INTO AI RALLY - CLICK HERE</h3>
<h3>UH-OH, IT’S AUGUST, BUT THERE MAY BE A CATCH THIS YEAR - CLICK HERE</h3>
<h3>NASDAQ GAINS WITH HELP FROM FED, SOME EARNINGS - CLICK HERE</h3>
<h3>BENCHMARK TREASURY YIELD: BREAK IN THE CLOUD - CLICK HERE</h3>
<h3>ENERGY EQUIPMENT: YOUR NEXT BEST ENERGY TRANSITION PLAY? - CLICK HERE</h3>
<h3>POSITIONING ONLY “A BIT” CLEANER AFTER JULY WOBBLE - CLICK HERE</h3>
<h3>STOXX FALLS AS BANKS, AUTOS DRAG - CLICK HERE</h3>
<h3>MARKETS BET ON BENEFICENT BOE - CLICK HERE</h3>
<h3>MARKETS BRACE FOR BOE CUT, BARRAGE OF EARNINGS - CLICK HERE</h3>
<p>midday08012024</p>
<p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://tmsnrt.rs/3WX98tb?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="" width="569" height="666" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://tmsnrt.rs/3WX98tb"/></p>
<p>(Terence Gabriel is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)</p>

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<p>U.S. stocks turned sharply negative after weak economic data, with the Nasdaq being hit the hardest. Real estate led the S&P sector gainers, while tech was the weakest group. The U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield slid to around 3.98%. The decline in the ISM manufacturing indicates that the sector is still struggling. The S&P 500 and Dow are both down over 1%, while the Nasdaq is down nearly 2%. Defensive groups showed strength, while economically sensitive groups declined.</p>

- U.S. stock indexes turn sharply negative post weak economic data, with S&P 500 and Dow down over 1% each, Nasdaq off nearly 2%.
- ISM manufacturing PMI hits 46.8 vs 48.8 forecast, signaling sector struggles from high rates and slowing demand, potentially alleviated by Fed rate cuts in September.
- Defensive sectors show strength, while chips, regional banks, and small caps face significant declines; 10-Year Treasury yield drops below 4.0%, lowest since February.

LIVE MARKETS-U.S. stocks turn sharply negative after weak data