When the President of the United States starts talking about maybe, possibly taking military action against Iran, oil traders pay attention. And Thursday, they certainly did.

U.S. stocks slipped lower as investor sentiment cooled after President Donald Trump stopped short of ruling out potential military intervention in Iran. Speaking at the Board of Peace, Trump offered one of those beautifully vague statements that markets love to obsess over: the U.S. could "take it a step further — or not." He added that markets should learn more about Iran within the next 10 days.

That was enough to send crude prices jumping for a second consecutive session. Front-month West Texas Intermediate futures surged 2.5% to $66.65 a barrel by midday trading in New York, extending Wednesday's nearly 5% spike. That puts oil at its highest levels since early August 2025—a seven-month high that has energy companies grinning and pretty much everyone else grimacing.

The broader market wasn't thrilled about the geopolitical uncertainty. The S&P 500 slipped 0.3%, while both the Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 0.5%. But here's where it gets interesting: energy stocks led sector gains, rising 0.8% right alongside crude, while financials dragged on the broader market.

Earnings Season Delivers Some Wild Swings

If you thought the Iran headlines were dramatic, earnings season provided its own share of jaw-dropping moves. Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) jumped 9%—the company's best session since August 2022—after delivering earnings that beat analyst estimates. When you're an oil producer and crude prices are spiking on geopolitical tension, life is good.

But the real showstopper was Deere & Company (DE), which rocketed 12.6% higher in its biggest daily gain since March 2020. That jump lifted the industrial heavyweight's month-to-date gains to 27%, putting it on track for its strongest monthly performance since October 1974. Yes, you read that right—1974. That's the kind of historical context that makes you double-check the data.

Walmart Inc. (WMT) was essentially flat after broadly matching Wall Street's estimates, proving that sometimes meeting expectations is just boring. Meanwhile, Quanta Services Inc. (PWR) rose 4% to fresh record highs, because apparently someone had to have a good day without drama.

On the flip side, Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) fell 7%, extending its month-to-date slide to 21%—its worst monthly performance since May 2022. Ouch.

When Bad Earnings Lead to Good Stock Performance

Here's something weird: DoorDash Inc. (DASH) gained 4.2% despite missing on both earnings and revenue. The likely explanation? Buyers stepped in after recent weakness, deciding the stock had been beaten down enough. Sometimes the market is forward-looking; sometimes it's just contrarian.

eBay Inc. (EBAY) advanced 5% following quarterly results and news that it will acquire fashion marketplace Depop from Etsy Inc. (ETSY), which jumped 11% on the announcement. Everyone loves a good acquisition story, apparently.

Other notable earnings movers included Figma Inc. (FIG), up 8.4%, Wayfair Inc. (W), down 10.3%, Carvana Co. (CVNA), down 10.73%, and YETI Holdings Inc. (YETI), down 11.9%. It was one of those days where the winners really won and the losers really lost.

Thursday's Market Snapshot

By midday trading, here's where the major indexes stood:

Looking at the major ETFs, the picture was similarly mixed:

• The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF fell 0.3% to $628.80.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average moved 0.5% lower to $494.29.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series eased 0.5% to $602.94.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF traded at $263.37, down 0.23%.
• The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund outperformed, up 0.8% to $55.20, while the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund lagged, down 1.3% to $51.93.

Russell 1000's Biggest Winners and Losers

The day's most extreme moves in the Russell 1000 told their own stories. On the winning side, Americold Realty Trust led the pack with a 16.80% surge, followed by Medical Properties Trust at 14.43% and Omnicom Group at 13.55%. Deere & Company (DE) came in fourth at 13.13%, while Etsy (ETSY) rounded out the top five with an 11.64% gain.

The losers list was led by Avis Budget Group, which plummeted 23.03%, followed by EPAM Systems at -21.28% and Corcept Therapeutics at -16.44%. Carvana (CVNA) dropped 11.72%, and YETI Holdings (YETI) fell 11.44%.

So what does it all mean? Well, if Trump's 10-day timeline holds, we'll know soon enough whether this oil rally has legs or if it's just another case of geopolitical saber-rattling. In the meantime, energy investors are happy, tech investors are nervous, and everyone else is just trying to figure out what happens next.