U.S. stocks experienced significant declines on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping nearly 500 points, the S&P 500 falling 1.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite decreasing by 2.3%. This sell-off was driven by new economic data indicating a potential recession, including rising initial jobless claims and a contraction in the ISM manufacturing index. Despite the Federal Reserve signaling a possible rate cut in September, investor sentiment remained negative. Treasury yields fell below 4% as investors sought safer assets. Major technology stocks, including Nvidia and Meta Platforms, showed mixed performance, with Meta seeing gains due to better-than-expected earnings, while semiconductor stocks suffered significant losses.