Wall Street Today | Market Faces Second-Day Pullback

The overall market pulled back for the second day in a row Thursday after a semiconductor sell-off Wednesday.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were negative for the week, while the Dow remained green for the week despite facing the strongest pullback.

Thursday, initial jobless claim numbers came in higher for the week, at 240k vs 220k expected.

Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller said Wednesday that the central bank is "getting closer to the time when a cut," in interest rates is warranted. However, he still wants more evidence that inflation is slowing before he's ready to move.

Federal Reserve Governor Adriana D. Kugler said Tuesday she anticipates "it will be appropriate to begin easing monetary policy later this year" if economic conditions continue to evolve in a favorable manner with more rapid disinflation and employment softens while remaining resilient. She addressed the National Association for Business Economics Foundation in Washington.

"If the labor market cools too much and unemployment continues to increase and is driven by layoffs, I would see it as appropriate to cut rates sooner rather than later," Kugler said.

Oil futures made modest moves on Thursday, with U.S. crude prices easing back a bit from gains seen in the previous session when government data showed a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories.

Global benchmark Brent crude finished slightly higher, stretching its gain into a second straight session to settle at its highest in a week. Some pressure in U.S. and global benchmark crude prices wouldn't be surprising given the recent weakness in the equity markets, said Tariq Zahir, managing member at Tyche Capital Advisors.

However, traders may want to "use the opportunity to get long the energy markets" given the current Atlantic hurricane season, which can disrupt energy production, and continued output cuts from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, as well as uncertainty surrounding developments in the Middle East, he said.

Oil futures on Wednesday snapped a three-day losing streak after the Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. commercial crude inventories fell by 4.9 million barrels in the week that ended July 12. Analysts surveyed by S&P Global Commodity Insights had expected a rise of 540,000 barrels.