WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks recovered from a sharp pullback early in the session on Thursday but showed a lack of direction over the remainder of the trading day. The major averages spent much of the day lingering near the unchanged line.
The major averages eventually ended the day narrowly mixed. While the Dow edged down 61.07 points or 0.1 percent to 46,504.67, the S&P 500 crept up 7.37 points or 0.1 percent to 6,582.69 and the Nasdaq rose 38.23 points or 0.2 percent to 21,879.18.
Early in the session, the Nasdaq tumbled by as much as 2.2 percent, while the S&P 500 and the Dow slumped by as much as 1.5 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.
Reflecting the rally seen over the two previous sessions, the major averages posted strong gains for the holiday-shortened week. The Nasdaq spiked by 4.4 percent, the S&P 500 surged by 3.4 percent and the Dow jumped by 3 percent.
The early weakness on Wall Street came amid renewed concerns about an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East following President Donald Trump's primetime address Wednesday night.
While Trump's speech largely echoed his recent comments and Truth Social posts, traders seemed to respond negatively to the tone of his remarks.
The president reiterated his claim that the war will be over 'very shortly' but also said the U.S. is going to hit Iran 'extremely hard over the next two to three weeks,' bringing the country 'back to the stone ages where they belong.'
Trump also once again called on other countries to 'build up some delayed courage' and take control of the vital Strait of Hormuz, claiming, 'The hard part is done.'
After moving sharply lower over the past two days amid optimism an end to the conflict, crude oil prices skyrocketed in reaction to Trump's speech, with U.S. crude oil futures spiking by more than 9 percent.
However, stocks bounced well off their worst levels after a report from Iranian state news agency IRNA said Iran and Oman are drafting a protocol to 'monitor transit' through the Strait of Hormuz.
Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's deputy minister of legal and international affairs, said the requirements are meant to 'facilitate and ensure safe passage and provide better services to ships that pass through this route,' according to a translation of IRNA's report.
Sector News
Networking stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, driving the NYSE Arca Networking Index up by 3.9 percent to a record closing high.
Considerable strength was also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 2.5 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.
Telecom stocks also showed a significant move to the upside, with the NYSE Arca north American Telecom Index jumping by 2.4 percent.
Oil producer, commercial real estate and natural gas stocks also saw notable strength, while airline stocks moved sharply lower, dragging the NYSE Arca Airline Index down by 2 percent.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 2.4 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.7 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.2 percent and the German DAX Index fell by 0.6 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries showed a lack of direction for much of the session after recovering from early weakness. The yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, edged down by less than a basis point to 4.313 percent after reaching a high of 4.362 percent.
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