The S&P 500 clawed back most of its morning decline at midday Thursday after sources told Reuters that U.S. and Iranian negotiators meeting in New York are discussing a phased deal that would have Tehran reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for Washington lifting its economic blockade of Iran.
The headlines took some of the edge off a session that had opened under pressure from a surge in Treasury yields.
West Texas Intermediate crude whipsawed on the headlines, sinking as low as $91.23 a barrel intraday before bouncing back to trade up 1.6% at $93.62, as the unconfirmed nature of the talks limited the follow-through selling.
Brent crude swung in a similar range, from a session low near $101.84 to $104.58, up 1.5%.
The 10-year Treasury yield eased to 5.14%, up 3 basis points on the day, after topping 5.15% earlier in the session — still its highest level since 2007. The 2-year yield was little changed at 4.89%, while the 30-year added about 4 basis points to 5.44%.
Traders on Polymarket continue to assign roughly 68% odds to a quarter-point Fed rate hike at the October meeting, largely unmoved by the Iran headlines as the bigger driver remains this week's blowout PMI data and still-elevated inflation readings.
The S&P 500 trimmed its decline to 0.2%, trading at 7,693.18, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4%, or roughly 223 points, at 51,288.57.
The Nasdaq 100 pared its loss to 0.3%, at 30,383.95, as mega-cap tech mostly recovered. Within Magnificent Seven stocks, Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) extended its gain to 3.3% after unveiling new VR glasses and monetization plans for its Muse AI agent.
Gold slipped 0.2% to $4,276.90 an ounce.
Thursday's Performance In Major US Indices
According to market data:
- The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) was little changed, off less than 0.1%.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) slipped 0.2%.
- The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) eased 0.1%.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) dipped 0.2%.
Energy And Refiners Shine As Tech Claws Back Losses
The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) led all S&P 500 sectors, adding 1.0% as crude prices extended their advance.
The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) was the second-best performer, up 0.9%, and the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLC) added 0.7%.
On the other end, the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) was the session's worst performer, down 2.3%, followed by the Industrials Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI), off 1.8%, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLY), down 1.0%.
Within industry ETFs, the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP) surged 3.6% and the VanEck Oil Services ETF (OIH) added 1.5%, tracking the broader energy rally.
On the losing side, the iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) slipped 0.6% and the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) fell 0.3%.
Individual solar names were hit hard as rising borrowing costs weighed on project financing: First Solar, Inc. (FSLR) tumbled roughly 8%, SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. (SEDG) dropped about 5%, and Enphase Energy, Inc. (ENPH) fell around 4%.
In a notable single-stock move, Oracle Corp. (ORCL) dropped 4.5% after issuing a force majeure notice for its New Mexico data center project, raising fresh questions about the pace of AI infrastructure buildout.
On the upside, Everpure, Inc. (P) rallied 18.1% as forced index-fund buying tied to its promotion into the S&P 500 combined with Street expectations for an earnings beat.
Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (CRL) climbed 5.6% after issuing an upbeat 2026 outlook at its investor day, and Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) gained 4.1% as refining margins hit records alongside surging diesel prices.
GoDaddy Inc. (GDDY) jumped 3.5% after the Financial Times reported that Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) made a preliminary, all-cash takeover approach for the company valued near $12.2 billion — a deal that sent Gen Digital shares down 8.2% on financing and dilution concerns.
Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) rose 3.5% after winning FDA approval for its once-weekly insulin, Onswik, and signing a licensing deal with InnoCare worth up to $3.35 billion.
On the downside, Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (VKTX) sank 14.2% after pricing an upsized $500 million offering of common stock and convertible senior notes, diluting existing shareholders.
TD SYNNEX Corporation (SNX) slid 12.2% even after beating fiscal third-quarter revenue estimates at $21.6 billion, as gross-margin compression and a $975.6 million free-cash-flow outflow tied to AI-server inventory build overshadowed the top-line strength.
MGM Resorts International (MGM) fell 10.5% after Barry Diller's People Inc. withdrew its long-standing buyout offer at $48.30 a share, with Diller saying "the mix was [not] coming together" as hoped.
Aurora Innovation, Inc. (AUR) dropped 8.5% in a classic sell-the-news reaction to its analyst and investor day, where operational milestones failed to clear already-elevated expectations.
