Around-the-clock rescue efforts are underway in Venezuela after two powerful back-to-back earthquakes struck the country on Wednesday evening.
Venezuela immediately activated a massive emergency response after the devastating quakes.
Footage from the scene, captured by CGTN Stringer, shows rescue teams sifting through rubble as they are racing against time to rescue people trapped in collapsed buildings
Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez has declared a state of emergency and appointed a general to oversee the emergency response.
The shallow earthquakes, measuring magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, respectively and striking just 40 seconds apart on Wednesday, were the strongest to hit the South American country in more than a century and the deadliest in decades.
They devastated parts of the country's central coast and the capital Caracas, triggering widespread building collapses, power and communications outages, while raising fears of further destruction from continuing aftershocks.
By Thursday evening, the earthquake death toll has risen to 235, according to the Venezuelan Health Ministry.
Rescue race intensifies after devastating earthquake doublet rocks Venezuela
Major U.S. stock indexes ended mixed on Thursday, with weakness in mega-cap technology names offsetting gains in semiconductor stocks fueled by strong corporate earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 71.72 points, or 0.14 percent, to 51,920.62. The Standard and Poor's 500 dipped 0.73 points, or 0.01 percent, to 7,357.49. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 118.03 points, or 0.46 percent, to 25,358.60.
Six of the 11 primary Standard and Poor's 500 sectors ended in the green, with industrials and health leading the gainers by rising 2.19 percent and 1.49 percent, respectively. Consumer discretionary and consumer staples led the laggards by going down 1.78 percent and 1.08 percent, respectively.
Micron Technology delivered record-setting quarterly results, beating expectations and providing upbeat guidance, which helped ease concerns over lofty AI valuations and spending. The company's shares surged more than 15 percent.
Qualcomm rose about 3.7 percent after announcing an expansion beyond smartphones into data center products, including chips and servers, with a target of 15 billion U.S. dollars in new revenues from the AI boom.
Meanwhile, Apple dropped 6.15 percent after the company announced price increases on MacBook and iPad products, citing higher component costs. Microsoft also lost 3.46 percent following news of price hikes on Xbox consoles.
On the inflation front, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, rose 0.4 percent month over month in May, slightly below expectations, and 4.1 percent year over year. The core PCE index, excluding food and energy, increased 0.3 percent month over month and 3.4 percent year over year, both in line with forecasts.
U.S. stocks close mixed as mega-cap tech weakness offsets chip rally
