NEW YORK: U.S. stocks ended lower on Thursday as Wall Street weighed mixed quarterly earnings against higher oil prices and renewed inflation concerns, with losses in large technology names pulling the broader market off its highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 179.71 points to 49,310.32, the S&P 500 dropped 29.50 points to 7,108.40, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 219.06 points to 24,438.50, leaving all three major indexes in the red by the closing bell.
The session reflected a market balancing solid pockets of corporate performance with a more difficult macro backdrop. Rising crude prices and continuing disruption tied to the Middle East conflict added to worries that energy costs could keep price pressures elevated. At the same time, economic readings showed the U.S. economy still expanding, with the Labor Department reporting initial jobless claims of 214,000 for the latest week and S&P Global’s flash composite PMI rising to 52.0 in April.
Technology shares bore much of the selling pressure, led by sharp declines in software. IBM fell after first-quarter revenue growth slowed, while ServiceNow dropped after saying delayed closings of several large on-premise deals in the Middle East created a headwind for subscription revenue growth. The slide in IBM and ServiceNow weighed on the broader software group and dragged the S&P 500 technology sector lower, offsetting strength elsewhere in the market and setting the tone for the Nasdaq’s decline.
Chipmakers Offer a Counterweight
One of the clearest exceptions came from Texas Instruments, which surged after issuing a stronger-than-expected second-quarter outlook. The chipmaker projected revenue of $5.0 billion to $5.4 billion and earnings per share of $1.77 to $2.05, lifting sentiment across parts of the semiconductor industry. But those gains were not enough to reverse the broader pullback in equities, and Tesla also weighed on investor sentiment after increasing its 2026 spending plan to more than $25 billion.
The uneven reaction underscored how selective investors have become this earnings season. A majority of S&P 500 companies that had reported through Thursday had topped analyst expectations, and overall first-quarter profit growth remained strong. Even so, high-profile disappointments or cautious signals from major companies had an outsized effect on trading, especially in sectors where valuations have remained elevated. That left the market vulnerable to a pullback despite a backdrop of generally resilient corporate results and still-firm economic activity.
Wall Street Breadth Signals a Broader Retreat
Losses were spread widely across the market, with declining stocks outnumbering advancers on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq. The retreat suggested investors were trimming risk beyond a handful of earnings-driven names, even as the benchmark indexes remained close to record territory. The S&P 500 had touched fresh intraday highs earlier in the session before finishing lower, illustrating the market’s struggle to sustain momentum as traders absorbed new corporate reports, economic data and higher energy prices.
By late afternoon, the day’s trading had crystallized into a familiar pattern for April: strong demand in select corners of the market, but a heavier drag from software weakness, rising oil and caution around headline risk. With IBM, ServiceNow, Texas Instruments, Tesla, the Labor Department and S&P Global all helping shape the day’s narrative, Thursday’s close showed how quickly mixed earnings and macro pressures can outweigh broader optimism on Wall Street. – By Content Syndication Services.