WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - After coming under pressure early in the session, stocks saw further downside over the course of the trading day on Thursday. The major averages all moved sharply lower as the day progressed, more than offsetting the modest gains posted during Wednesday's session.
The major averages ended the day not far off their lows of the session. The Dow tumbled 703.84 points or 1.3 percent to 52,759.21, the Nasdaq slumped 263.92 points or 1 percent to 26,067.17 and the S&P 500 slid 66.82 points or 0.9 percent to 7,641.16.
The weakness on Wall Street came as the price of crude oil extended a recent surge amid concerns about the conflict in the Middle East following President Donald Trump's latest threats.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump announced he is launching 'economic warfare' against Iran, calling it the 'most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country.'
Trump also warned of 'tremendous economic consequences' for any country that 'allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran.'
Responding to Trump's threats, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the so-called 'Economic D-Day' as a 'diversion from America's own crisis: unprecedented debt & surging interest costs.'
'Doubling down on failed policies will only bring further defeat-and enmity of Iranians,' Araghchi said in a post on X. 'US economic terrorism threatens global economy and sovereignty worldwide.'
U.S. crude oil futures have shot up by more 2 percent to their highest levels in nearly a month amid concerns the latest rhetoric suggests there is no end in sight to the U.S.-Iran war.
The sharp increase in the price of crude oil also contributed to a substantial rebound by treasury yields, which had tumbled on Wednesday after the Treasury Department announced upscaled buyback operations for longer-term debt.
A steep drop by shares of Walmart (WMT) also weighed on Wall Street, with the retail giant plummeting by more than 9 percent.
The nosedive by Walmart came after the company reported weaker than expected comparable sales growth in the second quarter and provided disappointing guidance.
Sector News
Retail stocks saw substantial weakness amid the plunge by shares of Walmart, with the Dow Jones U.S. Retail Index tumbling by 2.5 percent.
Significant weakness also emerged among airline stocks, as reflected by the 2.4 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Airline Index.
Housing, pharmaceutical and biotechnology stocks also saw considerable weakness, while gold stocks showed a strong move to the upside amid an increase by the price of the precious metal.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 1.4 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced by 0.8 percent.
Meanwhile, most European stocks moved to the downside on the day. The French CAC 40 Index slid by 0.6 percent and the German DAX Index fell by 0.4 percent, although the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index bucked the downtrend and closed just above the unchanged line.
In the bond market, treasuries pulled back sharply following the surge seen in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, jumped 4.3 basis points to 4.696 percent.
Copyright(c) 2026 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2026 AFX News
