Stocks fall, S&P 500 and Nasdaq pull back from all-time highs
Stocks declined Thursday, giving back some of the gains that took the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite to fresh record highs in the previous session.
The S&P 500 shed 0.3%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq declined 0.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average pulled back by 180 points, or 0.3%.
Some of the biggest movers on Thursday included IBM and ServiceNow, which were respectively trading 9% and 15% lower after reporting their latest results. Shares of Tesla shed 2% when CEO Elon Musk warned capital expenses would rise “substantially” as the electric vehicle maker moves into AI-powered self-driving cars and humanoid robots.
Both the broad market index and tech-heavy Nasdaq finished at record levels on Wednesday after President Donald Trump extended the U.S. ceasefire with Iran. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose 1.05% and 1.64%, respectively. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 340.65 points, or 0.69%.
Late Tuesday afternoon, Trump said that the ceasefire extension was warranted due to Tehran’s government being “seriously fractured.”
Still, geopolitical relations in the region remain tense. A lack of commitment from Iran reportedly resulted in Vice President JD Vance pausing his trip to join peace talks. Iran state media also reported that Tehran negotiators said they wouldn’t be present, calling talks with the U.S. a “waste of time.” And on Wednesday, Iran’s navy said that it had seized two container ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Investor sentiment has also been strengthened by a strong earnings season so far. Of the 87 S&P companies that have reported so far, 81% have reported an earnings beat, while 76% have reported revenue that surprised to the upside.
“It’s a balancing act right now,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth. “For most of the earnings reporting season over the course of the last two weeks, there has been a shift in focus from the macro concerns about geopolitics to the micro reporting on a company by company basis, which was positive.”
“But, there’s just so long that we can ignore some of the headlines coming out of the conflict,” he added.
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