04:01 PM EDT, 08/01/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes ended lower Thursday as markets assessed the latest corporate earnings and macro data while awaited Apple ( AAPL ) and Amazon's ( AMZN ) results.

* S&P Global's ( SPGI ) US manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to 49.6 last month from 51.6 in June, sinking below 50 for the first time in seven months.

* Nonfarm productivity rose by 2.3% in Q2 after a 0.4% gain in Q1, with output growth faster than in the previous quarter and hours worked growth only marginally faster than in the previous quarter. Unit labor costs rose by 0.9% in Q2 after a gain of 3.8% in the previous quarter due to the faster gain in productivity and a slowdown in compensation growth.

* September West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed down $1.60 to $76.31 per barrel, while October Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $1.13 to $79.71 as concerns over flagging China demand more than offset worries over rising Middle East tensions following the assassination of a leader of the Hamas militant group in Tehran a day earlier.

* Meta Platforms ( META ) rose 4.8% as the Facebook parent posted Q2 earnings and sales that surpassed the Wall Street's expectations.

* Moderna ( MRNA ) shares plunged 21% after the drugmaker logged better-than-expected Q2 results, but lowered the full-year product sales guidance for its respiratory business amid growing competition in the US and low demand in the European Union.