WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday, adding to the modest losses posted in the previous session. The tech-heavy Nasdaq showed a notable move to the downside, pulling back further off the record closing high set on Tuesday.
The Nasdaq ended the day off its lows of the session but still slumped 345.35 points or 1.3 percent to 27,193.34. The S&P 500 also fell 36.41 points or 0.5 percent to 7,765.36, although the narrower Dow bucked the downtrend and inched up 51.77 points or 0.1 percent to 51,231.64.
Early weakness on Wall Street came amid a renewed spike in crude oil prices due to concerns about a re-escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
U.S. crude oil futures soared early in the day after a report from NBC News said President Donald Trump and his national security team have discussed possibly resuming large-scale U.S. military operations in Iran in the coming weeks.
Citing a U.S. official and another person with knowledge of the discussions, NBC News said the options included launching strikes before the midterm elections next month.
Crude oil prices gave back some ground after Trump denied the U.S. would be attacking Iran at any time prior to the elections, triggering a brief recovery attempt on Wall Street.
However, prices remained sharply higher due to ongoing attacks on tankers in the Middle East and concerns about hurricane-related production disruption in the Gulf of Mexico.
Selling pressure picked back after a report from the Financial Times said OpenAI's annualized revenue is about $20 billion less than the company previously signaled.
The report, which cited financial documents shared with investors, contributed to particular weakness among technology stocks.
Sector News
Semiconductor stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the session, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunging by 3.4 percent.
Substantial weakness also emerged among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 2.5 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.
Networking and biotechnology stocks also showed significant moves to the downside, while oil producer stocks spiked along with the price of crude oil.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index both tumbled by 1.4 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.8 percent.
The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index slumped by 1.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.5 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index dipped by 0.2 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries have shown a significant turnaround over coming under pressure in early trading. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 2.6 basis points at 5.303 percent.
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