(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)
US equity indexes were mixed, with gains in energy and tech partially offsetting a broadly negative market under pressure from higher government bond yields and crude oil.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.6% to 54,016.3, with the S&P 500 down 0.2% to 7,710.2. The Nasdaq Composite was little changed at 26,308.7.
Among companies with a market capitalization of more than $200 billion, four of the top five belonged to either the semiconductor or the semiconductor equipment and materials industries. Arm (ARM) was the biggest outperformer in this category, with shares up 4.9%.
Tech giant Sandisk's (SNDK) shares traded 5.2% lower after dropping more than 10% earlier in the session, following fiscal Q4 results that showed an adjusted earnings and revenue beat. Raymond James adjusted its price target on Sandisk's shares to $2,000 from $1,470.
Energy topped the sector charts intraday, followed by technology. Real estate, materials, and industrials led the decliners.
Iran has made a concerted diplomatic push with Gulf states, warning them explicitly that Tehran will hit their oil, power and water plants unless they convince President Donald Trump to end US strikes on Iran, Reuters reported Thursday.
Iran and Oman are close to finalizing a proposed framework for commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran's deputy foreign minister said, according to a CNN report Thursday. However, the agreement would not automatically reopen the waterway, he warned, according to the news report. The deal would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian source and two regional officials told Reuters on Wednesday.
The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract jumped 3.2% to $77.65 a barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent surged 4.% to $82.60 a barrel.
US Treasury yields rose, with the 10-year yield up 5.5 basis points to 4.67% and the two-year higher by 6.8 basis points to 4.25%.
Gold futures slipped 0.1% to $4,300.40, giving up earlier gains. Silver futures retreated 1% to $61.64.
In economic news, Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said companies planned to cut 33,429 jobs in July, down from 45,849 in June and 62,075 in July 2025, and the lowest monthly total since July 2024.
"The pace of layoffs fell dramatically this summer," said Andy Challenger, the company's chief revenue officer. "Layoff plans continue to be announced primarily in tech, and artificial intelligence is still the story, as investments in the technology reshape organizations."
Initial jobless claims rose to 199,000 in the week ended Aug. 1 from an upwardly revised 198,000 in the prior week, compared with the 205,000 forecast in a survey of analysts compiled by Bloomberg. The four-week moving average fell by 4,500 to 198,750.
Wholesale inventories rose by 0.2% in June, revised downward from a 0.3% increase in the advance reading and following a 0.3% increase in May. Analysts in a Bloomberg-compiled poll expected no revision.