Dow slides, Nasdaq jumps to record as tariffs kick in, Trump nominates Fed board member

President Trump chose Stephen Miran, the current chairman of the Council of economic Advisors to serve on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, after Adriana Kugler resigned last Friday.

“It is my Great Honor to announce that I have chosen Dr. Stephen Miran, current Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, to serve in the just vacated seat on the Federal Reserve Board until January 31, 2026,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“In the meantime, we will continue to search for a permanent replacement. Stephen has a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University, and served with distinction in my First Administration. He has been with me from the beginning of my Second Term, and his expertise in the World of Economics is unparalleled — He will do an outstanding job. Congratulations Stephen!”

Yahoo Finance's Jake Conley reports:

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Gold (GC=F) futures climbed on Thursday as tariffs on imports from nearly 200 countries rolled out, and investor optimism over potential Fed rate cuts in September grew.

The precious metal rose 0.6% to trade above $3,454 per ounce. Inflows into gold ETFS and central bank purchases have fueled gold purchases over the past year.

Year to date, gold is up about 32%. The prospects of lower interest rates from the Federal Reserve amid a weakening job market have fueled purchases of the precious metal.

Meanwhile, President Trump's tariff deadline landed on Thursday, and tariffs on imports from a variety of countries now face duties ranging from 10% to 50%. The overall average effective tariff rate is projected to jump to 18.6% this year, according to the Yale Budget Lab, the highest since 1933.

Yahoo Finance's Francisco Velasquez reports:

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Shares of Firefly Aerospace — trading under the ticker symbol FLY — opened at $70 per share on Thursday, about 56% above their IPO prices of $45.

Brian Sozzi reports:

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Yahoo Finance's Shi Bradley and Claire Boston report:

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Stocks pared gains in the early morning session after Bloomberg reported Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller is “emerging as a top candidate” to serve as the central bank's next chair.

Bloomberg reports:

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Toyota (TM), the world's largest automaker, is the latest to warn about the effects of President Trump's tariffs.

Yahoo Finance's Pras Subramanian writes:

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Major cryptocurrencies and crypto-related stocks were rallying early Thursday ahead of President Trump's expected signing of an executive order that would allow alternative assets like cryptocurrencies and private equity into the retirement accounts of millions of Americans, Yahoo Finance's Jake Conley reports.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) rose nearly 2%, while ether (ETH-USD) and XRP (XRP-USD) were both up around 4%. Shares of Coinbase (COIN), the largest publicly traded crypto exchange, rose 3.4%. Robinhood (HOOD) and Strategy (MSTR) climbed over 4% and 2.6%, respectively.

Read the full story here.

Chip stocks climbed on Thursday after President Trump said he'll exempt companies from his planned 100% semiconductor tariffs if they are making or beginning to make their chips in the US.

Nvidia (NVDA) rose more than 2%, while Broadcom (AVGO) jumped 1.7% and Micron (MU) rose 3.4%.

Most advanced chips are produced by contract chip manufacturer TSMC (TSM) in Taiwan, but the company has been building out its capacity in Arizona, exempting it from Trump's tariffs. The company's US-listed shares soared nearly 7% Thursday morning, hitting a record high.

So far, Nvidia has committed to producing $500 billion of AI infrastructure in the US. Micron made a similar $200 billion commitment.

US stocks rose at the open on Thursday as President Trump hinted at a carveout for coming tariffs on semiconductors, boosting tech for a second day, just as his tariffs hit dozens of US trading partners.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 0.8%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained 0.6%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) was up 0.5%.

Americans filing for unemployment insurance on an ongoing basis reached the highest level since November 2021 at the end of July.

In the week ending July 26, 1.974 million continuing claims were filed, up from 1.936 million the week prior and the highest level seen since November 2021, according to data from the Department of Labor released Thursday morning. Economists see an increase in continuing claims as a sign that those out of work are taking longer to find new jobs.

Meanwhile, weekly filings for unemployment benefits moved higher to 226,000 in the week ending Aug. 2, up from 221,000 the week prior.

Read more: What are jobless claims, and why do they matter?

President Trump on Thursday morning called for the resignation of Intel's (INTC) CEO Lip‑Bu Tan, who has been at the job since March, saying the executive is “highly conflicted” and should leave his post immediately.

“The CEO of INTEL is highly conflicted and must resign immediately. There is no other solution to this problem. Thank you for your attention to this problem!” wrote Trump on social media.

On Wednesday, Reuters reported that US Republican Sen. Tom Cotton sent a letter to the company's board raising questions about Tan's ties to Chinese firms and a recent criminal case involving his former company, Cadence Design (CDNS.O).

Intel stock was down as much as 3% in premarket trading.

Economic data: Initial jobless claims (week ending Aug. 2); Nonfarm productivity (second quarter preliminary); Unit labor costs (second quarter preliminary)

Earnings: Block (XYZ), Celsius (CELH), ConocoPhillips (COP), Eli Lilly (LLY), Sony (SONY), SoundHound (SOUN), Pinterest (PINS), Take-Two Interactive (TTWO), Twilio (TWLO), The Trade Desk (TTD), Vistra Energy (VST)

Here are some of the biggest stories you may have missed overnight and early this morning:

Investors are ‘agitated' by less than perfect earnings

Shopify's strong quarter shows consumers are ignoring tariffs

Eli Lilly stock falls on GLP-1 pill trial results

Trump's tariffs hit dozens of countries as trade deadline expires

Trump to sign order easing path for private assets in 401(k)s

Apple leads surge in global tech shares after Trump tariff relief

Trump boasts billions of dollars flowing into US from tariffs

Warner Bros revenue surges on streaming expansion, box-office hits

Trump floats possible tariffs on China for buying Russia oil\

TSMC shares surge as Taiwan says firm exempt from Trump tariffs

Not too far removed from Figma's (FIG) huge IPO, Firefly will come to market at the Nasdaq later on today. The IPO was upsized, and it's likely it will come out of the block strong when it opens.

I am not in love with the company's financials, but it has a host of key deals in place and its technology has proven to work (see trips to moon). And it has a SpaceX (SPAX.PVT) like story to tell at a hot time for markets. Perfectly timed debut.

I am live with Firefly CEO Jason Kim around 11am ET today from the Nasdaq. Tune into Yahoo Finance!

Softbank's (SFTBF, 9984.T, SFTBY) Tokyo shares closed 1% up on Thursday after reporting a bigger profit than expected in the June quarter.

Bloomberg News reports:

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Apple stock rose 3% before the bell on Thursday. Yahoo Finance's technology editor Daniel Howley and Washington correspondent Ben Werschkul outline the latest developments from the Apple investment announcement on Wednesday.

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Bloomberg News reports:

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