Stock Market Today: S&P 500, Nasdaq Hit Fresh Records for 3rd Straight Day; Dow Ticks Lower; Oil Retreats Further

U.S. stock indexes saw mixed performance Thursday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite reaching new all-time highs for the third straight day. The S&P 500 rose 0.1%, while the Nasdaq climbed 0.4%, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.1% after opening higher. The gains followed a strong prior session, where the Nasdaq, S&P 500, and Dow surged 2%, 1.5%, and 1.2%, respectively, with the Dow adding over 600 points. Oil prices fell further as hopes of a U.S.-Iran peace deal persisted, dampening market expectations. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures dropped 4.3% to $91 a barrel, while Brent crude futures declined 4.2% to $97. The 10-year Treasury yield also eased slightly to 4.34%, influencing mortgage and loan rates. Meanwhile, gold futures rose 1.6% to $4,770 an ounce, and Bitcoin traded around $80,200, down from overnight highs near $81,700. Tech stocks, particularly the Magnificent Seven, led gains, with Tesla shares rising 4% after a 4% jump the previous day. Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company, added 3% following a nearly 6% gain. However, several stocks saw sharp declines in post-earnings trading, including Planet Fitness (down 31%), Zoetis (down 22%), and Whirlpool (down 13%). Zoetis, the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500, reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter earnings, with adjusted EPS of $1.53 on revenue of $2.26 billion—below analyst forecasts of $1.61 and $2.31 billion, respectively. The company cut its full-year adjusted EPS guidance to between $6.85 and $7.00 (down from $7.00–$7.10) and revenue guidance to $9.680–$9.960 billion (down from $9.825–$10.025 billion). CEO Kristin Peck cited increased price sensitivity among pet owners, leading to fewer veterinary visits and softer demand. Other notable movers included Arm Holdings (down 5%), Shell (down 3%), Datadog (up 31%), and Fortinet (up 24%). The U.S. dollar index dipped 0.2% to 97.88, reflecting slight weakness in the greenback against a basket of foreign currencies.