-- The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 pulled back from record highs on Thursday, dragged down by a sell-off in technology stocks, while oil prices rose.
The Nasdaq fell 0.9% to 24,438.5, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.4% to 7,108.4, a day after both indexes notched record-high closing levels. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.4% to 49,310.3. Tech saw the steepest decline among sectors, shedding 1.5%, while utilities paced the gainers with a 2.8% advance.
ServiceNow (NOW) shares sank nearly 18%, the worst performer on the S&P 500, following its quarterly results.
Shares of other major tech names also fell, with Salesforce (CRM) down 8.7%, the steepest decline on the Dow. Microsoft (MSFT) lost 4%, while tech bellwether Nvidia (NVDA) shed 1.4%.
International Business Machines (IBM) followed Salesforce on the Dow, as the stock tumbled 8.3%. Late Wednesday, the technology giant maintained its full-year revenue growth outlook even as it reported first-quarter results above Wall Street's estimates.
Tesla (TSLA) slumped 3.6% despite the company reporting stronger-than-expected first-quarter results. The electric vehicle manufacturer is ramping up its capital investments, which will result in a negative free cash flow for the rest of 2026, according to Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja.
Tesla's aggressive capital spending on artificial intelligence initiatives should boost revenue, though it may take some time before those gains materialize, UBS Securities said in a Thursday note to clients.
American Express (AXP) shares fell 4.3%, also among the biggest declines on the Dow, even as the payments company reported better-than-expected first-quarter results and reiterated its full-year outlook.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 3.7% at $96.37 per barrel in Thursday late-afternoon trade, on track for its fifth day of gains. Brent rose 3.8% to $105.82, extending its advance to a fourth day.
US President Donald Trump ordered the US navy to "shoot and kill any boat" placing mines in the Strait of Hormuz, he said in a social media post on Thursday. Separately, Trump claimed that the US has "total control" over the key oil supply chokepoint.
Trump extended a ceasefire with Iran earlier in the week, though he said the naval blockade of Iranian ports would continue. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Wednesday reportedly seized two tankers attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz.
"Hopes for a resolution between the US and Iran are fading as peace talks stall," ING Bank said Thursday in a report. "If no progress is made, the market will become increasingly numb to the noise and headlines that have dictated price action recently."
A second round of ceasefire talks between Israel and Lebanon was scheduled to take place at the White House on Thursday, according to media reports. On April 16, Trump announced a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.
US Treasury yields were higher, with the 10-year rate up 2.2 basis points at 4.33% and the two-year rate rising 3.6 basis points to 3.84%.
In economic news, government data showed weekly applications for unemployment insurance in the US increased more than expected, while continuing claims largely matched Wall Street's estimates.
"We remain of the mind that the conflict in Iran is unlikely to cause significant disruptions in the US labor market," Jefferies Chief US Economist Thomas Simons said in a note on Thursday. "There are many vulnerable points in the global economy that are at risk in the near-term due to potential shortages of all sorts of commodities, but for better or worse, the US economy is likely going to be the most insulated in the world."
Gold was down 0.9% at $4,712.20 per troy ounce, while silver lost 3.2% to $75.46 per ounce.