Wall Street ended Thursday sharply split. A heavy selloff in technology and chip stocks pulled the Nasdaq and S&P 500 lower, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to finish essentially unchanged thanks to gains in more defensive, slower-growth companies. Renewed worries about how much money is being spent on artificial intelligence, along with oil prices climbing toward their highest level since May, kept investors on edge.
What Moved Markets
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 52,867.98, up 11.89 points, or 0.02%. The S&P 500 fell 93.74 points, or 1.21%, to 7,663.43. The Nasdaq Composite took the biggest hit, dropping 694.00 points, or 2.60%, to 26,008.86. The small-cap Russell 2000 edged up 0.11% to 2,784.03, and the VIX, a popular gauge of expected market swings often called Wall Street’s “fear index,” jumped about 14% to 19.03.
Technology was the weakest sector, with semiconductor stocks leading the decline and reversing Wednesday’s gains. Investors have grown more cautious about whether heavy AI spending will pay off, and the move hit companies tied to chips and data centers hardest. Oil added to the unease. Brent crude rose to roughly $112 a barrel, up more than 50% since the Iran conflict began in late February, after reports that renewed strikes on Iran were being planned for after the November 3 midterm elections and attacks were reported on Saudi energy facilities. On the economic front, weekly jobless claims fell to 194,000, the lowest in three months, and Treasury yields pulled back from recent highs. Gold fell more than 2% and Bitcoin slid about 4% to around $81,000.
Notable Movers
Meta Platforms (META) fell about 7% to $648.85 after its quarterly report and the announcement of a 2-for-1 stock split. Investors appeared to focus on spending plans rather than the split itself.
Tesla (TSLA) dropped about 3.1% to $374.58. The company beat earnings estimates, but investors weighed lower capital spending forecasts for this year against bigger planned spending in 2027 and 2028 on projects such as Optimus and Cybercab.
Blackstone (BX) jumped about 8.4% to $118.75 after executives gave an upbeat outlook for selling investments, even though third-quarter realizations and distributable earnings declined from a year earlier.
CoreWeave (CRWV) lost roughly 10% as concerns about heavy debt and the cost of borrowing for AI infrastructure returned. Moderna (MRNA) tumbled more than 20% after early results from a melanoma vaccine study leaked on social media. The data showed a 38% reduction in the risk of cancer spreading, but investors had hoped for more. Full results are due Saturday at a medical conference.
Looking Ahead
Investors will watch whether chip stocks stabilize after this week’s volatility, particularly as more earnings reports arrive. Moderna’s complete cancer vaccine data on Saturday will be closely followed. Oil and Iran-related headlines remain a key risk heading into the November 3 midterm elections, and any further jump in crude could pressure inflation expectations and interest rates. After a day when the Dow and Nasdaq moved in very different directions, traders will be looking for signs on Friday of whether the tech pullback is a brief pause or the start of something longer.