US stocks slipped on Thursday as Treasurys yields rose and investors absorbed a series of earnings reports, prospects of an imminent Strait of Hormuz deal, and fresh labor market data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) slid 0.6%, risking ending the blue-chip index’s record-breaking win streak, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) declined by 0.1%.
Investors remain hyper-focused on AI capital requirements and monetization. Those concerns, combined with high valuations for some tech names, have led to punishing earnings reactions for some AI highfliers such as Sandisk (SNDK) and Western Digital (WDC).
SpaceX (SPCX) stock popped earlier in the session but gave back most of its gains as a lockup period expired, freeing up insiders to sell their shares.
Global oil prices (BZ=F) rose to $81 per barrel on Thursday as geopolitical uncertainty continued to hang over markets. Iran said it had reached an agreement with Oman for a temporary shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the deal would be finalized “if certain third parties do not obstruct this process.”
Higher oil prices also put upward pressure on Treasury yields, with the 30-year yield (^TYX) climbing to 5.21% and the 10-year yield (^TNX) increasing to 4.67%.
A Challenger, Gray & Christmas report on Thursday showed July layoffs plunged to their lowest level in two years, while data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed first-time jobless claims ticked up slightly to 199,000 in the week of Aug. 1. The two releases on Thursday set the stage for Friday’s July employment report.
