U.S. stocks edged lower at midday Thursday as Treasury yields rebounded and crude oil climbed back above $100 a barrel, with optimism over an imminent U.S.-Iran agreement fading after Tehran hardened its position on uranium.
Nvidia Corp.‘s (NASDAQ:NVDA) blockbuster earnings beat failed to extend the AI rally.
According to Reuters, Iran’s Supreme Leader issued a directive stating Tehran’s near-weapons-grade uranium should not be sent abroad, hardening Iran’s position on a key U.S. demand in peace talks.
WTI crude oil climbed 1.9% to $100.08 a barrel by midday, retaking the triple-digit threshold as doubts over Strait of Hormuz traffic and Iran’s tougher uranium stance reignited the war risk premium. Brent crude rose 1.4% to $106.45.
The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rebounded to 4.61%, up 2 basis points on the day, while the policy-sensitive 2-year yield climbed 4 basis points to 4.11%. The 30-year held above 5% at 5.13%.
The dollar index rose to 99.4, hitting an April high as the rate differential widened back in the greenback’s favor. Reinforcing the macro backdrop, the S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing PMI jumped to 55.3 in May – the strongest reading since 2022.
Across U.S. equity markets by midday Thursday, losses were broad but contained, with rate-sensitive growth names taking the hardest hit while small caps clung to the green.
The S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 7,414, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped just 65 points to 49,944, cushioned by an 8% surge in International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) after winning a $1 billion CHIPS Act quantum-computing award. The Dow’s biggest drags were Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT), down 7.6% on earnings, and Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM), off 4.3%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 slid 0.6% to 29,111 as Nvidia’s record-setting print failed to lift the broader complex. The world’s largest company fell 1.6%.
The Russell 2000 small-cap index was the lone gainer, eking out a fraction to 2,819, as domestically focused names shrugged off the yield bump.
Thursday’s Performance In Major US Indices
| Index | Last | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,414.23 | -0.3% |
| Dow Jones | 49,943.95 | -0.1% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 29,111.16 | -0.6% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,818.59 | +0.1% |
Updated by 12:15 PM ET
According to the Benzinga Pro platform:
- The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) slipped 0.3%.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE:DIA) edged 0.1% lower.
- The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) shed 0.6%.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) ticked higher by a fraction.
The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) led the S&P 500’s sector leaderboard at midday on crude’s rebound, while the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLP) and Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLY) lagged as Walmart’s fuel-cost warning rippled through retail.
Thursday’s Stock Movers
- Nvidia Corp. fell 1.6% even after delivering Q1 fiscal 2027 revenue of $81.6 billion, up 85% year-over-year, with record Data Center revenue of $75.2 billion, +92% year-over-year. The company also unveiled an additional $80 billion buyback authorization and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.25, but guidance for the upcoming quarter did not reach the upper end of analyst estimates.
- Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) rose 2.7% after HSBC upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold and hiked its price target to $137 from $77, with analyst Stephen Bersey writing that “Cisco’s AI role is becoming structural”; Morgan Stanley separately lifted its target to $120 from $91.
- On the downside, Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) tumbled 20.2% after the TurboTax parent unveiled plans to cut roughly 3,000 jobs – about 17% of its global workforce – alongside its fiscal third-quarter print.
- Deere & Co. (NYSE:DE) sank 7.6% after the farm-equipment maker delivered a top-line miss with Q2 revenue of $11.78 billion versus the $11.88 billion consensus, even as EPS of $6.55 beat the $5.87 estimate.
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