NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks ran into heavy weather Thursday despite a drop in jobless claims last week.

Tech stocks bore the brunt of the selling Thursday.

In the week ending August 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 230,000, a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week's revised level, the U.S. Labor Department reported. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 239,000 to 240,000. The 4-week moving average was 236,750, an increase of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 234,250 to 234,500.

"I think it's a very narrowly focused market," Phillip Colmar, global strategist at MRB Partners, told CNBC Thursday, adding that just a few names are driving the entire market. "I do think if you've got a better growth backdrop and higher bond yields, it lends itself naturally to a broadening of the market. We saw some of that in recent weeks," he said.

Colmar added that he would lighten up on the tech sector, given its recent moves higher this year. "Themes sometimes get front loaded into the price action and then it takes a while to catch up," he said.

Standard & Poor's 500 (^GSPC):

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 index ended the day at 4,376.32, down 59.69 points, which translated to a decline of one and a third percent (-1.35%). The total trading volume for the day was approximately 2.037 billion shares.

Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI):

The Dow Jones Industrial Average also experienced a significant drop, closing at 34,099.42. This represented a decrease of 373.56 points or just over one percent (-1.08%). The trading volume was notable, reaching 337.041 million shares.

NASDAQ Composite (^IXIC):

The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite index took a particularly hard hit, closing at 13,463.97. This was a substantial drop of 257.06 points, equivalent to a decline of almost one and nine-tenths percent (-1.87%). The day's trading activity was robust, with a volume of 3.843 billion shares.

Global Foreign Exchange Markets Close with Significant gains for the U.S. dollar

In a whirlwind of activity, the global foreign exchange markets saw a series of noteworthy currency movements on Thursday, with the dollar gaining groun d across the board.

EUR/USD (Euro/US Dollar):

The euro experienced a decline against the dollar, with the EUR/USD pair closing at 1.0807, marking a decrease of half a percent (-0.51%). This change amounted to a loss of 0.0055 in value for the euro.

USD/JPY (US Dollar/Japanese Yen):

Similarly, the U.S. Dollar strengthened against the Japanese Yen, as the USD/JPY pair ended the day at 145.84. This upward movement represented a gain of seven-tenths of a percent (0.70%), equivalent to an increase of 1.00 in value for the greenback.

USD/CAD (US Dollar/Canadian Dollar):

The dollar too made gains against the Canadian Dollar Thursday, with the USD/CAD pair closing at 1.3579. This reflected an increase of four-tenths of a percent (0.41%), which equated to a rise of 0.00549 in value for the U.S. Dollar.

GBP/USD (British Pound/US Dollar):

The British pound faced a tough day, closing at 1.2596, resulting in a decrease of almost a full percent (-0.98%). This translated to a loss of 0.0125 in value for the British Pound.

USD/CHF (US Dollar/Swiss Franc):

The dollar exhibited strength against the Swiss Franc Thursday, as the USD/CHF pair concluded at 0.88480 This upward movement represented a gain of seven-tenths of a percent (0.79%), equivalent to an increase of 0.0069 in value for the US Dollar.

AUD/USD (Australian Dollar/US Dollar):

The Australian Dollar weakened sharply, with the AUD/USD pair closing at 0.6416, marking a decline of almost a full percent (-0.99%). This change amounted to a loss of 0.0064 in the value of the Australian Dollar.

NZD/USD (New Zealand Dollar/US Dollar):

Similarly, the New Zealand Dollar experienced a drop, with the NZD/USD pair closing at 0.5920. This reflected a decrease of almost a full percent (-0.97%) in value for the New Zealand Dollar.

Global Stock Markets Close with Mixed Performances on Thursday

In a day marked by mixed performances across global stock markets, investors kept a watchful eye on economic indicators and geopolitical developments that influenced trading sentiments. Here's a roundup of the closing stock market quotes for Thursday:

CANADA

S&P/TSX Composite Index (^GSPTSE):

In Canada, the S&P/TSX Composite index closed at 19,775.83, down 103.96 points or about half a percent (-0.52%). Trading volume was notable, with 180.417 million shares changing hands.

UNITED KINGDOM

FTSE 100 (^FTSE): The UK's FTSE 100 index closed at 7,333.63, recording a modest gain of 13.10 points, representing an increase of 0.18 percent.

EUROPE

ESTX 50 PR.EUR (^STOXX50E): The Eurozone's ESTX 50 PR.EUR index closed at 4,232.22, down 34.45 points, or 0.81 percent.

Euronext 100 Index (^N100): The Euronext 100 Index ended the day at 1,336.17, down by 8.24 points, or 0.61 percent.

DAX PERFORMANCE-INDEX (^GDAXI): Germany's DAX index saw a decline Thursday, closing at 15,621.49, down by 106.92 points, or 0.68 percent.

CAC 40 (^FCHI): France's CAC 40 index also ended in the red, closing at 7,214.46, down 32.16 points, or 0.44 percent.

BEL 20 (^BFX): Belgium's BEL 20 index closed marginally lower at 3,619.41, down 3.52 points, or 0.10 percent.

RUSSIA

MOEX Russia Index (IMOEX.ME): Russia's MOEX Russia Index closed at 2,222.51, down 4.14 points, or 0.19 percent.

ASIA

Nikkei 225 (^N225): Japan's Nikkei 225 index experienced positive momentum, closing at 32,287.21, with a notable gain of 276.95 points, or 0.87 percent.

HANG SENG INDEX (^HSI): Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed significantly higher at 18,212.17 Thursday, reflecting an impressive increase of 366.25 points, equivalent to 2.05 percent.

SSE Composite Index (000001.SS): The Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index edged slightly higher, closing at 3,082.24, up by 3.84 points, or 0.12 percent.

Shenzhen Index (399001.SZ): China's Shenzhen Index performed well, closing at 10,256.19, registering an increase of 103.58 points, or 1.02 percent.

STI Index (^STI): Singapore's STI Index ended the day at 3,180.72, gaining 6.54 points, or 0.21 percent.

S&P BSE SENSEX (^BSESN): India's S&P BSE SENSEX index experienced a decline, closing at 65,252.34, down 180.96 points, or 0.28 percent.

NIFTY 50 (^NSEI): India's NIFTY 50 index closed at 19,386.70, down 57.30 points, or 0.29 percent.

IDX COMPOSITE (^JKSE): Indonesia's IDX COMPOSITE index on Thursday closed at 6,899.39, down 22.02 points, or 0.32 percent.

FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (^KLSE): Malaysia's FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI closed positively at 1,444.67, gaining 4.56 points, or 0.32 percent.

KOSPI Composite Index (^KS11): South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index performed well, closing at 2,537.68, with a significant gain of 32.18 points, equivalent to 1.28 percent.

TSEC weighted index (^TWII): Taiwan's TSEC weighted index ended positively at 16,770.87, with an impressive gain of 193.97

OCEANIA

S&P/ASX 200 (^AXJO): Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index closed positively at 7,182.10, gaining 33.70 points, or 0.47 percent.

ALL ORDINARIES (^AORD): Australia's ALL ORDINARIES index closed positively at 7,400.60 Thursday, with a gain of 33.00 points, or 0.45 percent.

S&P/NZX 50 INDEX GROSS (^NZ50): New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 INDEX GROSS closed at 11,502.13, down 69.77 points, or 0.60 percent.

AFRICA

Top 40 USD Net TRI Index (^JN0U.JO): South Africa's Top 40 USD Net TRI Index experienced a decline, closing at 3,946.34, down by 29.35 points, or 0.74 percent.

MIDDLE EAST

TA-125 (^TA125.TA): Israel's TA-125 index closed at 1,871.96, down 4.32 points, or 0.23 percent.

EGX 30 Price Return Index (^CASE30): Egypt's EGX 30 Price Return Index ended positively at 18,207.80 Thursday, gaining 74.40 points, or 0.41 percent.

Market analysts suggest that the mixed performance reflects ongoing uncertainty in global markets, driven by a combination of economic data, geopolitical events, and investor sentiment. Traders are expected to continue closely monitoring these factors in the days to come, together with remarks by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at Jackson Hole on Friday.

"Fading expectations of recession have brought the focus back to inflation and a potential tight Fed and risk assets have started showing more signs of weakness than at any other point this year," Bank of America said in a note to clients earlier this week. "We therefore think equities are more at risk of a macro-driven shock than the market is pricing in," they warned.