US benchmarks end the day mixed as the Nasdaq falls on growth concerns

4.10pm: US stocks finish the day mixed US stocks ended Thursday’s trading session mixed as the investors took some profits on tech heavyweights such as Amazon and Apple on worries over earnings growth.   The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 54 points at 34,987, while the broader S&P 500 shed around 14 to 4,360. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, was down over 101 points, or 0.7%, at 14,543. On Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testified before the Senate Banking Committee, saying inflation pressures will likely remain elevated in the coming months before beginning to fade. 12.10pm: US stocks in the red US benchmarks were trading lower at lunch as investors digested weak data from China, while US economic stats did little to cheer the mood. Markets also have an eye on a second day of testimony from fed chairman Jerome Powell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost around seven points at 34,924. The broader S&P 500 shed around 16 at 4,357. The tech heavy Nasdaq was down over 115 points at 14,529. "In the US, lower than expected readings across the unemployment claims, Philly Fed manufacturing index and industrial production do little to encourage sentiment around the US recovery," noted Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at IG, a global leader in online trading. "Nonetheless, the fact that both initial and continuing jobless claims are moving South prove that the employment picture is gradually moving in the right direction," he added. Earlier in London, FTSE 100 closed down around 79 points, or 1.12% at 7,012, while FTSE 250 dropped over 248 points, or 1.09%, at 22,501 11am: Proactive North America headlines: Alpine 4 Holdings  Inc (OTCQB:ALPP) appoints former Navy Seal TK Eppley as new president of Vayu Aerospace Altiplano Metals Inc (CVE:APN) (OTCMKTS:ALTPF) begins ventilation improvements at Farellon GGX Gold Corp (CVE:GGX) (OTCQB:GGXXF) (FRA:3SR2) completes 18 new holes as work advances on its flagship Gold Drop property Amarillo Gold Corporation (CVE:AGC) (OTCQB:AGCBF) welcomes Paulo Serpa as its new country manager in Brazil Boosh Plant-Based Brands Inc (CSE:VEGI) (OTCPink:VGGIF) acquires Saltspring Harvest through all-asset purchase Versus Systems Inc (NASDAQ:VS) (FRA:BMVB) partners with Peach Bowl to bring fan engagement and rewards to college football fans Mountain Valley MD Holdings Inc (CSE:MVMD) (OTCMKTS:MVMD) appoints Gokul Kannan and Mark Gelnaw as new advisors and updates on listing plans The Valens Company Inc (TSE:VLNS) (OTCQX:VLNCF) (FRA:7LV) sees fiscal 2Q revenue rise by 7% driven by new cannabis product launches ME2C Environmental (OTCQB:MEEC) signs multi-year supply business deal with current utility licensee Karora Resources Inc (TSE:KRR) (OTCMKTS:KRRGF) (FRA:5RN1) reveals record 2Q gold production and sales from its Western Australia operations Electric Royalties  Ltd (CVE:ELEC) shares news on busy period for its royalty assets Gungnir Resources Inc (CVE:GUG) (OTCPINK:ASWRF) (FRA:AMO1) to start geophysics at Rormyrberget nickel deposit BioHarvest Sciences Inc (CSE:BHSC) (OTCMKTS:CNVCF) (FRA:8MV) announces publication of its inaugural Environmental, Social, and Governance report Vendetta Mining Corp (CVE:VTT) (OTCMKTS:VDTAF) poised to start ten hole drill program at Pegmont lead-zinc project this month Safe-T Group Ltd (NASDAQ:SFET) named as a 2021 emerging leader in the Zero Trust Network Security market by Quadrant Knowledge Solutions Phunware Inc (NASDAQ:PHUN) says leading international luxury resort has adopted its Smart Hospitality Solution Golden Tag Resources Ltd (CVE:GOG) (OTCQB:GTAGF) reports encouraging drill results from Fernandez zone at San Diego project, Mexico Recruiter.com Group Inc (NASDAQ:RCRT)  appoints Xuan Smith as chief technology officer BetterLife Pharma Inc (CSE:BETR) (OTCQB:BETRF) (FRA:NPAU) says early positive in vitro results show AP-003 has similar potent efficacy against coronavirus variants Global Energy Metals Corp (CVE:GEMC) (OTCMKTS:GLBEF) (FRA:5GE2) partner Metal Bank kicks off exploration on the Millennium project in Australia Exro Technologies Inc (CSE:XRO) (OTCQB:EXROF) (FRA:1O2) says new application for Coil Driver technology will cut cost of deploying EV infrastructure at scale TechX Technologies Inc (CSE:TECX) (OTCMKTS:TECXF) (FRA:C0B1) closes $16M Mobilum acquisition and announces name change Snowline Gold Corp (CSE:SGD) (OTCPINK:SNWGF) says Crescat investment is a 'compelling endorsement' of its Ursa gold and base metals project Cabral Gold Inc (CVE:CBR) (OTCMKTS:CBGZF) (FRA:C3J) reveals new drill results from Morro da Lua target; adds two new rigs to boost drill program at Cuiú Cuiú C3 Metals Inc (CVE:CCCM) (OTCMKTS:CARCF) acquires 100% of Hochschild Mining's interest in its flagship Jasperoide Copper-Gold Project in Peru TraceSafe Inc (CSE:TSF) (OTCMKTS:UTOLF) (FRA:1UZ) to provide health and safety technology for Calgary Stampede NorthWest Copper Corp (CVE:NWST) (OTCMKTS:NWCCF) (FRA:34S0)doubles the size of its East Niv property and updates summer drilling at Kwanika GameSquare Esports Inc (CSE:GSQ) (FRA:29Q1) adds lifestyle marketing agency Cut+Sew and Zoned to its portfolio of profitable companies Phyto Extractions Inc (CSE:XTRX) (FRA:D2EA) appoints new chief financial officer and company director Gold Resource Corporation (NYSEAMERICAN:GORO) (FRA:GIH) says confident it will meet annual production guidance as it reveals 2Q production figures Altaley Mining Corporation (CVE:ATLY) (OTCMKTS:ATLYF) (FRA:TSGN) unveils 'significant' increases to net revenue and metal recoveries at Campo Morado in 2Q BioVaxys Technology Corp (CSE:BIOV) (FRA:5LB) (OTCQB:BVAXF) closes first tranche of non-brokered private placement to raise $838,675 in gross proceeds African Gold Group Inc (CVE:AGG) (OTCMKTS:AGGFF) (FRA:3A61)  says metallurgical testwork confirms Kobada’s excellent potential as new mine in Mali Marvel Discovery Corp (CVE:MARV) (FRA:O4T1) (OTCQB:MARVF) starts exploration at Slip project in central Newfoundland 9.38am: Wall Street starts in the red Wall Street began Thursday’s session in the red as traders processed the jobless claims data and awaited more testimony from Fed chair Jerome Powell. Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.28% at 34,834 while the S&P 500 dropped 0.22% to 4,364 and the Nasdaq fell 0.27% to 14,604. Sentiment may have wobbled in the wake of the higher than expected jobless data, with analysts at Pantheon saying the rate of decline in jobless claims “appears to have slowed” but markets may have to wait until the end of August for the true picture as seasonal adjustments faded. 8:40am: Wall Street to start lower  The main indices on Wall Street are expected to open lower on Thursday as investors assessed the latest US jobless claims data Spread-betters predict the Dow Jones Industrial Average will start around 171 points lower, while the S&P 500 is expected to drop 16 points and the Nasdaq is forecast to be mostly flat. For the week to July 10, the figures showed around 360,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits, down from 373,000 the previous week but above the 350,000 predicted by analysts. However, the level is the lowest rate of weekly claims since March 2020, indicating that the US jobs market is just about returning to pre-pandemic levels. Back on the markets, one stock that looks to be heading higher is Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) after reports that it has hired a former EA and Facebook executive to lead its first foray into computer games. Games will be made available on Netflix’s video streaming platform within the next year, Bloomberg reported overnight, with no plans to charge extra for the content (to start with, of course). Four things to watch for on Thursday: Notable names in the earnings diary today include health insurance firm UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE:UNH), financial group US Bancorp (NYSE:USB) and insurer Progressive Corp (NYSE:PGR) Crypto market may also be in focus after the co-creator of Dogecoin blasted the technology by calling it “right-wing, hyper-capitalistic” and “cult-like” General Motors Co (NYSE:GM) could also feel the heat after several of its electric cars caught fire On the macro front, aside from jobless claims there may be interest in US import and export prices as well as production figures