Wall Street Retreats from Record Highs, Iran Risks Curb Optimism
US stocks weakened on Thursday (April 23), halting a rally after a lack of progress in the US-Iran conflict triggered a risk-off sentiment. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell about 0.3% from the previous session's highs, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 200 points.
The pressure arose as oil and refined product prices remained high following Iran's seizure of a commercial vessel in the Persian Gulf, worsening prospects for a deal with Washington. The risk of disruptions to tanker flows from this key region weighed on US growth optimism and contributed to rising benchmark bond yields, keeping the cost of capital tight for riskier assets.
The technology sector also pulled the index lower after the previous day's outperformance began to be trimmed, amid mixed results from speculative AI stocks. Tesla fell 2% amid market skepticism about plans to increase AI and robotics spending, while ServiceNow plunged 15% after subscription revenue was hit by the impact of the Iran war. Microsoft, MetaTrader, and Oracle also fell 4%.
Meanwhile, Texas Instruments surged 10% on optimistic performance guidance, shielding further losses. The market now awaits after-the-close reports from American Airlines and Intel, with focus on whether corporate performance can offset geopolitical pressures and the path of interest rates, which are again sensitive to energy movements. (gn)
Source: Newsmaker.id
