On Thursday, the three major indices closed mixed as technology stocks were broadly sold off, with the Nasdaq posting its largest single-day decline since June 23. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East escalated further. Sources familiar with the matter said the United States and Israel plan to launch another military strike against Iran after the U.S. midterm elections next month. U.S. President Trump told reporters on Wednesday evening that Washington is not currently negotiating with Tehran and said "something will happen soon."
U.S. Stocks
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 11.59 points, or 0.02%, to 52,867.68; the S&P 500 fell 93.82 points, or 1.21%, to 7,663.35; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 694.00 points, or 2.60%, to 26,008.86. Tech stocks suffered heavy losses, with SpaceX (SPCX.US) falling 9%, Meta Platforms (META.US) dropping nearly 7%, Nvidia (NVDA.US) declining 4.4%, and SK Hynix (SKHY.US) sliding 8%. Moderna (MRNA.US) plunged 17%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index fell 1.19%, with Alibaba (BABA.US) dropping more than 2%.
European Stocks
Germany's DAX 30 fell 282.88 points, or 1.10%, to 25,362.16; the U.K.'s FTSE 100 dropped 31.91 points, or 0.30%, to 10,720.97; France's CAC 40 declined 110.42 points, or 1.39%, to 7,811.26; the Euro Stoxx 50 fell 121.57 points, or 1.96%, to 6,085.95; Spain's IBEX 35 dropped 407.90 points, or 2.11%, to 18,915.60; and Italy's FTSE MIB declined 1,263.19 points, or 2.54%, to 48,380.50.
Forex
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, fell 0.17% on the day and closed at 101.608 at the end of the New York trading session. At the close of New York trading, 1 euro exchanged for 1.1220 dollars, down from 1.1223 dollars the previous trading day; 1 pound exchanged for 1.3400 dollars, up from 1.3384 dollars the previous session. 1 dollar exchanged for 156.78 yen, down from 158.29 yen the prior day; 1 dollar exchanged for 0.8205 Swiss francs, down from 0.8254 Swiss francs the previous session; 1 dollar exchanged for 1.4008 Canadian dollars, down from 1.4052 Canadian dollars the prior day; and 1 dollar exchanged for 9.9079 Swedish kronor, up from 9.8985 Swedish kronor the previous session.
Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell more than 3.5%, briefly dropping below the $81,000 mark, and was trading at $81,421 at the time of writing; Ethereum fell more than 3.6% to $2,392.77.
Precious Metals
Spot gold was quoted at $4,025.55 per ounce; spot silver was quoted at $54.61 per ounce.
Crude Oil
Light crude oil futures for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose $2.32 to close at $99.47 per barrel, a gain of 2.39%; London Brent crude oil futures for December delivery rose $4.35 to close at $113.17 per barrel, a gain of 4.0%.
Macro News
The U.S. stock market is reassessing the sustainability of the AI boom, with the Nasdaq posting its largest decline since June. U.S. tech stocks fell sharply as investors grew increasingly concerned that soaring spending in the artificial intelligence sector may not be sustainable. The Nasdaq dropped 2.6% on Thursday, marking its largest single-day decline since June. Meanwhile, the blue-chip-heavy Dow rose 0.02%. Amid market worries about massive AI investments by tech companies, several major AI-related stocks declined. Meta (META.US) fell 7% after disclosing that it would bear substantial additional spending commitments in the future. Although Meta's revenue grew significantly, its profits still fell short of Wall Street expectations. Investor and analyst Navellier said: "It all traces back to Meta. The problem now is that the market is selling indiscriminately, throwing out the good along with the bad." Adding to market concerns about AI spending, Nvidia's CEO said that AI lacks sufficient capital to support the growth of so-called "Neoclouds." These companies primarily provide digital infrastructure to major AI cloud computing firms such as Meta and Amazon. SpaceX, Nvidia, and CoreWeave all saw their shares decline. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plunged 6.7%. Given the ongoing turbulence in the AI sector this week, U.S. investors are turning to the bond market for safety, seeking to avoid riskier assets such as tech stocks. As funds flowed into the bond market, U.S. Treasury yields fell sharply. Trump paused tariffs on wind turbines, leaving room for further action with a 180-day consultation period. According to reports, Trump signed an executive order to delay imposing tariffs on wind turbines and their components on national security grounds, instead directing the U.S. Trade Representative and Commerce Secretary to consult with trading partners and submit a report within 180 days. An executive order signed by Trump on Thursday noted that some wind turbines and their components are already subject to other tariffs on aluminum, copper, and steel. He instructed relevant officials to "jointly promote reaching relevant agreements, or continue advancing ongoing agreement negotiations" to address imports of wind turbines and their components. Trump said in the executive order: "Depending on the progress or outcome of these negotiations, I may consider taking other remedial measures in the future." DoubleLine Capital: Long-term U.S. Treasuries still face downward pressure. Jeff Sherman, Deputy Chief Investment Officer of DoubleLine Capital, said that massive government borrowing and weakening demand will continue to pressure long-term U.S. Treasuries. Although concerns over AI trades and market turmoil in France drove a rebound in safe-haven demand, pushing U.S. Treasuries higher on Thursday, he believes this is merely a rebound after excessive declines and does not change the fundamental pressures facing long-term bonds. Sherman said DoubleLine continues to significantly underweight long-term U.S. Treasuries in most portfolios, with some portfolios even shorting the long end of the yield curve. He also criticized U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent's attempts to push down U.S. Treasury yields, saying Bessent uses tough rhetoric to communicate with the market, but the market has not responded well. He believes that to attract investors, the government should strengthen investor confidence rather than blame critics.
Individual Stock News
SpaceX plans to secure at least 80,000 cellular基站 in the United States and is in talks with major communications tower operators for partnerships. According to media reports citing sources familiar with the matter, SpaceX (SPCX.US) plans to secure at least 80,000 cellular communications sites in the United States and is negotiating with at least one major communications infrastructure company to achieve this goal. Sources said the relevant agreements will further consolidate its plan to build the fourth nationwide wireless carrier in the United States. One of the companies SpaceX is in talks with is Crown Castle. The company, along with American Tower Corp. and Vertical Bridge Holdings, is one of the largest holders of communications tower assets in the United States. During Wednesday's earnings call, someone asked whether Crown Castle is discussing leasing arrangements with SpaceX, Amazon, or other satellite-based telecommunications service providers. Crown Castle's CEO replied: "You can assume that we are in discussions with all relevant parties." Moderna's intraday stock price plunged nearly 25%, with cancer vaccine data suspected of being leaked early. Moderna (MRNA.US) fell nearly 25% at one point during Thursday's trading session, while Merck (MRK.US) dropped 3.7%. Trial data for an experimental cancer vaccine jointly developed by the two companies was suspected to have been published early on the medical website Oncology Central and subsequently taken down. It was originally scheduled to be announced on Saturday at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) congress. According to the briefly disclosed data, the vaccine combined with Merck's cancer drug Keytruda can reduce the risk of melanoma recurrence or death. The two companies had previously announced that the Phase 3 trial met its primary endpoints but had not yet released detailed results. Reports say Musk invested $1 billion for a stake in Skydance. According to media reports citing sources familiar with the matter, Musk has invested approximately $1 billion in Skydance (SKYD.US, formerly Paramount Global), providing funding support for the company to cut costs and boost its stock price. The investment was made roughly concurrently with capital injections from other investors, including board member Laurene Powell Jobs. Musk and Paramount did not immediately respond. The report said Paramount CEO David Ellison had been considering partnerships with several wealthy investors. Musk is close to Oracle founder Larry Ellison; Larry Ellison has guaranteed more than $40 billion in equity financing for Paramount's acquisition of Warner Bros. Larry Ellison had also previously invested $1 billion in Musk's $44 billion acquisition and privatization of Twitter in 2022. OpenAI is close to completing a new funding round. According to reports, AI giant OpenAI is nearing the completion of a new funding round to pave the way for a potential IPO in the future. Sources said OpenAI is seeking to raise up to $30 billion at a pre-money valuation of $1.25 trillion. Sources said investors from the UAE are co-leading the round alongside investment firm Coatue. OpenAI told investors on Thursday that it plans to finalize the relevant agreements by the end of next week. However, sources noted that the final size of the round is still being determined. Sources said OpenAI is positioning this funding as an "opportunistic bridge financing" ahead of a potential IPO. OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar had previously told employees that the company may go public in 2027. Meanwhile, a source said OpenAI is also negotiating a commercial agreement to secure more computing resources from the UAE.
Analyst Ratings
HSBC: Lowered its price target on Netflix (NFLX.US) from $76 to $69.
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