-- The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite fell from record closing highs on Thursday as oil prices rose in what turned out to be a choppy trading session for crude.
The S&P 500 closed 0.4% lower at 7,337.1, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.1% to 25,806.2. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6% to 49,597. All three indexes snapped a two-day advance that propelled the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to all-time highs.
Barring communication services and technology, all sectors were in the red, led by materials and energy.
West Texas Intermediate crude was last up 0.7% at $95.73 a barrel, swinging between gains and losses during Thursday late-afternoon trade. Brent was up 0.1% at $101.36. Both benchmarks fell sharply Wednesday amid prospects of a diplomatic breakthrough between the US and Iran.
Iran is still reviewing "messages" from the US via Pakistani mediation, CNN reported, citing Iranian media. Tehran has set out new rules for ships looking to transit ross the crucial Strait of Hormuz, the news outlet reported.
"Markets continue to be cautiously optimistic toward the prospect of a US-Iran deal to end the war despite the appearances of the US administration pumping the deal vastly more than the other side," Scotiabank said in a note.
US Treasury yields were higher, with the 10-year rate up 4.5 basis points at 4.40% and the two-year rate rising 5.4 basis points to 3.92%.
In company news, Tapestry (TPR) raised its fiscal 2026 outlook after delivering a third-quarter beat, but provided a subdued fourth-quarter sales guidance for its Kate Spade brand. The luxury fashion company's shares slumped 12%, the second-worst performer on the S&P 500.
Planet Fitness (PLNT) shares slid 31% after the fitness center operator tempered its full-year expectations amid fewer-than-projected member additions in the first quarter.
Shake Shack (SHAK) shares plummeted 28% after the fast food chain operator's first-quarter results fell short of Wall Street's estimates amid weather-related headwinds.
Datadog (DDOG) shares surged 31%, the top gainer on the S&P 500. The software maker raised its full-year outlook after posting first-quarter results that topped the Street expectations.
In economic news, US job cuts increased in April to the third-highest total for the month since 2009 as technology companies continued to announce layoffs amid a shift toward artificial intelligence, Challenger Gray & Christmas said Thursday.
The report comes ahead of the official April nonfarm payrolls data to be released on Friday.
Official data are expected to show that the US economy added 65,000 nonfarm jobs in April, compared with a 178,000 increase reported for the previous month, according to a Bloomberg-compiled consensus. On Wednesday, ADP (ADP) said that employment in the US private sector grew at its fastest pace in more than a year.
Gold was up 0.3% at $4,709.90 per troy ounce in Thursday late-afternoon trade, while silver jumped 2.7% to $79.40 per ounce.