Stocks Closed Sharply Lower

U.S. stocks dropped sharply on Thursday, with the S&P 500 posting its worst daily decline since April, as economic data sparked concern that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates sooner than some have expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 317.06 points,
or 1.88%, to 16,563.30, finishing the month 1.6% lower. The S&P 500 fell 39.40 points, or 2.00%, to 1,930.67, losing 1.5% over July. The Nasdaq Composite lost 93.13 points, or 2.09%, to 4,369.77 and fell 0.7% over July.

Target hired Brian Cornell as CEO, choosing the former head of PepsiCo Americas Foods to take the job after Gregg Steinhafel was ousted following a hacker attack and a botched expansion in Canada.

Corporate networking site LinkedIn Corp (LNKD.N) reported a 47 percent increase in quarterly revenue, helped by higher demand for its hiring solutions. Revenue rose to $533.9 million in the quarter ended June 30 from $363.7 million a year earlier.

Apple Inc. (AAPL) is planning to cut 200 jobs at Beats Electronics, the headphones and music- streaming service it recently acquired for $3 billion, The New York Post reported on Thursday.