President Donald Trump, in a Truth Social post, threatened Iran with “economic warfare.”
- The S&P 500 ended 0.9% lower, while the Nasdaq 100 lost 0.7% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.3%.
- Walmart shares weigh on the Dow Jones.
- Benchmark Brent crude futures moved up more than 2% to $93.78 a barrel.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices ended lower on Thursday as fresh economic threats from President Donald Trump against Iran pushed yields and oil prices higher, while weak earnings from Walmart weighed on the Dow.
The S&P 500 ended 0.9% lower, while the Nasdaq 100 lost 0.7% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.3%. The Russell 2000, which tracks stocks with small market capitalizations, dropped1.3%.
Among ETFs tracking benchmark indexes, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) fell 0.8%, and Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ended Thursday 0.7% lower, while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) was down 1.3%.
Meanwhile, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) rose 0.3%, with Micron Tech (MU) and Broadcom (AVGO) leading gains. The broader Vanguard Information Technology ETF (VGT) fell 0.4%.
Retail sentiment on Stocktwits for QQQ and DIA was ‘bearish’ with ‘high’ message volumes and was ‘bullish’ on the SPY.
US Market Drivers
| Index | Move | Close |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | -1.3% | 52,759.21 |
| S&P 500 | -0.9% | 7,641.16 |
| Nasdaq 100 | -0.7% | 29,213.16 |
President Trump, in a Truth Social post on Wednesday, threatened Iran with what he described as the most devastating economic campaign ever directed at another nation. Trump characterized the upcoming measures as a period of historic economic isolation and warfare on a scale never seen before.
“This will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale,” he wrote.
In a Thursday interview with CNBC, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent echoed these sentiments, stating the U.S. is prepared to levy the most severe sanctions in the country's history against Iran.
Energy markets reacted sharply, with October West Texas Intermediate crude rising nearly 3% to $86.83 per barrel, while benchmark Brent crude futures advanced over 2% to $93.78 a barrel.
Treasury yields also jumped on Thursday following Trump’s commentary, a day before cooling off plans of a Treasury Department-led bond buyback. In an official release, authorities said that starting September 9, the U.S. Treasury will double the size of its liquidity-support buyback operations for government obligations maturing between 10 and 30 years, scaling them to $4 billion or more.
Officials highlighted that the aggressive step was taken to strengthen market depth and address emerging illiquidity across benchmark long-dated issues.
Key Trending Stocks
Walmart (WMT): The retailer’s third-quarter guidance fell below expectations, with the company flagging a timing shift in a major Flipkart sale as a headwind to sales growth.
CoreWeave (CRWV): The company announced a multi-year agreement with Hudson River Trading, adding another quantitative trading firm to its partners.
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX): The coffee chain has reportedly eliminated 104 roles as part of a restructuring aimed at boosting growth and said it would lay off workers who declined to relocate to its new Nashville office.
Deere & Co. (DE): The farm equipment maker posted stronger-than-expected Q3 results despite a slowdown in overall agricultural equipment sales.
Rocket Lab (RKLB): The company launched an Earth-imaging satellite for Japan’s Institute for Q-shu Pioneers of Space (iQPS), marking its 14th launch of the year.
For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.
