LIVE MARKETS-Nasdaq enters correction territory as Iran tensions, social media verdicts weigh

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NASDAQ ENTERS CORRECTION TERRITORY AS IRAN TENSIONS, SOCIAL MEDIA VERDICTS WEIGH

Wall Street's main indexes fell sharply on Thursday as investors worried about an escalation in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, which has sent oil prices soaring and exacerbated inflation concerns.

U.S. President ​Donald Trump said Iran must make a deal or face a continued onslaught. But a senior Iranian official told Reuters the U.S. proposal for ending nearly four weeks of fighting is "one-sided and unfair," while stressing that diplomacy had not ended.

Of note, the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC, which ended down 10.65% from its October 29, 2025, record close, confirmed a correction. The Dow .DJI is now down 8.42% from its February 10, 2026, record finish, while the S&P 500 .SPX has declined 7.19% from its January 27, 2026, record close.

With this, a majority of S&P 500 sectors declined on Thursday with Communication Services .SPLRCL, off more than 3%, taking the biggest hit. This came as Meta Platforms META.O and Alphabet GOOGL.O fell after U.S. jury verdicts on social media harm.

Just Energy .SPNY, up 1.57%, and Utilities .SPLRCU, up 0.23%, were on the positive side. Real Estate .SPLRCR ended unchanged.

Energy scored a record closing high.

Under the surface, gold/silver miners .XAU and chip stocks .SOX were especially weak. The SOX tumbled more than 4% as memory chipmakers came under pressure after Alphabet announced a memory-saving algorithm.

Software & Services .SPLRCIS lost more than 1%. Although the index has yet to violate its late February 2026 intraday low, it notched its lowest close since November 2023. The group is now down 31.5% from its October 28, 2025, record close.

Regional banks .KRX, biotech .NBI and transports .DJT posted modest losses.

Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield US10YT=RR, at just over 4.42%, is on pace for its highest close since July of last year.

Here is a snapshot of where markets stood shortly after 4 p.m. EDT.

(Terence Gabriel)

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(Terence Gabriel is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)