The U.S. stock market experienced significant volatility on Thursday but managed to recover most of its early losses. The S&P 500 initially dropped nearly 1% but erased the loss to finish with a 0.4% dip. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 189 points, or 0.4%, while the Nasdaq composite sank 0.4% after trimming an early drop of 1.6%. The market faced pressure from rising oil prices after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he was no longer interested in a deal with Iran and instead directed his vice president to investigate U.S. cities and states run by Democrats.
The focus of the day was on Nvidia, whose stock plunged 14% at the start of trading following the resignation of its CEO, Jensen Huang. Huang's departure came amid an investigation into his relationship with a woman suspected of being a Chinese government agent. Nvidia's stock had been sinking since the board announced the investigation, dropping 27% from its record high set last month. The company's stock finished the day with a 4.3% fall, but the broader market recovered some losses thanks to gains in other AI-related stocks like Broadcom and Advanced Micro Devices.
Oil prices also played a significant role in the market's movements. The price for a barrel of Brent crude climbed 3.3% to US$95.82 after Trump's statement. Higher oil prices raised concerns about inflation, pushing the yield on the 10-year Treasury up to 5.12% from 4.98%. The housing industry has been slowing the U.S. economy, but a report on Thursday indicated that the number of workers applying for unemployment benefits remained relatively low. The S&P 500 fell 26.98 points to 7,592.40, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 189.40 to 52,297.09, and the Nasdaq composite sank 100.10 to 25,366.09.
Internationally, stock markets were mixed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.3%, marking one of the world’s biggest moves.