Wall Street’s main indexes fell on Thursday as oil prices surged following a Reuters report that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei ordered the country’s near-weapons-grade uranium not to be sent abroad, dimming hopes for progress in talks between Washington and Tehran.
Oil had extended declines earlier in the session on optimism that diplomatic efforts could ease tensions. But the Reuters report later suggested Iran was hardening its position on one of Washington’s key demands, reviving concerns about a prolonged disruption around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global oil supplies.
The yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.609%, resuming its recent climb after snapping a three-day run of gains on Wednesday. A lack of meaningful progress towards reopening the strait has added to inflation concerns, pushing up yields and weighing on equities.
Investors also parsed a fresh batch of corporate earnings. Walmart (WMT.O), tumbled 7.5% after the largest retailer globally maintained annual targets and forecast second-quarter profit below estimates against a strained U.S. economic backdrop.
“The guidance (from Walmart) is what has caused investors to be concerned that finally we are seeing the effects of high oil prices and inflation on retail expectations. So that’s what’s putting some pressure on stocks today,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist, CFRA Research.
Shares of Nvidia (NVDA.O), the world’s most valuable company, edged down 0.6% as the AI heavyweight’s upbeat second-quarter revenue forecast and an $80 billion share repurchase program left investors unimpressed.
Its stock has jumped almost 20% so far this year but the pace of growth has slowed as investors believe Nvidia will face tougher competition, not only from Big Tech but also chip rivals including Intel (INTC.O), and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O).
At 9:58 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI), fell 24.51 points, or 0.05%, to 49,987.34, the S&P 500 (.SPX), lost 22.83 points, or 0.30%, to 7,410.68 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC), lost 119.67 points, or 0.46%, to 26,150.69.
Seven of the 11 main S&P 500 sectors were in negative territory, with the consumer staples (.SPLRCS), leading losses with a 2.3% drop.
Investors also monitored SpaceX after the company unveiled its IPO filing on Wednesday, giving the market its first glimpse into how much billionaire Elon Musk is spending on AI as he bets on transforming the rocket maker into a broader AI-led business.
On the economic front, the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits fell last week, pointing to continued labor-market resilience and giving the Federal Reserve room to keep its focus on inflation risks.
U.S. manufacturing activity rose to a four-year high in May, as businesses boosted inventories to guard against potential shortages and rising prices related to the war with Iran.
Among other movers, IBM (IBM.N), rose 5.6% as the Trump administration will fund a handful of quantum-computing companies, including a new IBM venture, in exchange for stakes in some of them.
GlobalFoundries (GFS.O), climbed 13%, D-Wave Quantum (QBTS.N), jumped 24.8%, Rigetti Computing (RGTI.O), gained 24.4% and Infleqtion (INFQ.N), surged 39.8%.
Intuit (INTU.O), shares plunged 20.5% after the software maker lowered the annual revenue forecast for its tax-filing software, TurboTax, and said it would cut 17% of its full-time workforce.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 2.35-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, and by a 1.7-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P 500 posted five new 52-week highs and four new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 34 new highs and 70 new lows.
