WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After moving to the downside early in the session, stocks have regained ground over the course of the trading day on Thursday. The major averages have climbed well off their lows of the session and are now lingering near the unchanged line.
Currently, the major averages are narrowly mixed. While the S&P 500 is up 7.20 points or 0.1 percent at 7,145.10, the Dow is down 16.06 points or less than a tenth of a percent at 49,473.97 and the Nasdaq is down 12.12 points or 0.1 percent at 24,645.45.
Profit taking contributed to the initial weakness on Wall Street following yesterday's rally, which more than offset the pullback seen to start the week.
The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both surged to new record closing highs on Wednesday despite lingering uncertainty about the conflict in the Middle East.
A steep drop by shares of IBM Corp. (IBM) also weighed on the markets, with the tech giant plunging by 7.8 percent.
The slump by IBM comes after the company reported better than expected first quarter earnings but failed to raise its full-year guidance.
Industrial giant Honeywell (HON) has also come under pressure after reporting first quarter earnings that exceeded estimates but forecasting weaker than expected second quarter earnings.
On the other hand, shares of Texas Instruments (TXN) are soaring by 18.7 percent after the chipmaker reported better than expected first quarter results and provided upbeat guidance.
Overall selling pressure has waned over the course of the session, as traders generally remain optimistic about a resolution of the U.S.-Iran conflict and the outlook for earnings.
In U.S. economic news, the Labor Department released a report showing first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by slightly more than expected in the week ended April 18th.
The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 214,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week's revised level of 208,000.
Economists had expected jobless claims to rise to 212,000 from the 207,000 originally reported for the previous week.
Sector News
Software stocks have shown a substantial move to the downside on the day, with the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index plunging by 3.6 percent after ending the previous session at its best closing level in almost three months.
AI-powered software company ServiceNow (NOW) has helped lead the sector lower, plummeting by 16 percent despite reporting better than expected first quarter results.
Gold, biotechnology and computer hardware stocks are also seeing considerable weakness, while semiconductor, oil service and utilities stocks have shown strong moves to the upside.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.8 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped by 1 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is up by 1 percent, the German DAX Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are both down by 0.1 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have climbed back near the unchanged line after seeing initial weakness. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by less than a basis point at 4.290 percent.
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