S&P 500 Erases Losses as US, Iran Reportedly Discuss Hormuz Deal: Stock Market Today

The S&P 500 clawed back most of its morning decline at midday Thursday after sources told Reuters that U.S. and Iranian negotiators meeting in New York are discussing a phased deal that would have Tehran reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for Washington lifting its economic blockade of Iran. The headlines took some of the edge off a session that had opened under pressure from a surge in Treasury yields. West Texas Intermediate crude whipsawed on the headlines, sinking as low as $91.23 a barrel intraday before bouncing back to trade up 1.6% at $93.62, as the unconfirmed nature of the talks limited the follow-through selling.

Brent crude swung in a similar range, from a session low near $101.84 to $104.58, up 1.5%. The 10-year Treasury yield eased to 5.14%, up 3 basis points on the day, after topping 5.15% earlier in the session — still its highest level since 2007. The 2-year yield was little changed at 4.89%, while the 30-year added about 4 basis points to 5.44%. Traders on Polymarket continue to assign roughly 68% odds to a quarter-point Fed rate hike at the October meeting, largely unmoved by the Iran headlines as the bigger driver remains this week’s blowout PMI data and still-elevated inflation readings.

The S&P 500 trimmed its decline to 0.2%, trading at 7,693.18, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4%, or roughly 223 points, at 51,288.57. The Nasdaq 100 pared its loss to 0.3%, at 30,383.95, as mega-cap tech mostly recovered. Within Magnificent Seven stocks, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ: META ) extended its gain to 3.3% after unveiling new VR glasses and monetization plans for its Muse AI agent.

Gold slipped 0.2% to $4,276.90 an ounce. Thursday’s Performance In Major US Indices Index Last % Change MTD YTD S&P 500 7,693.18 -0.17% +0.21% +16.48% Dow Jones 51,288.57 -0.43% -4.27% +11.62% Nasdaq 100 30,383.95 -0.28% +4.02% +24.54% Russell 2000 2,830.59 -0.28% -5.96% +17.40% Updated by 12:35 PM ET According to the Pro platform: The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: VOO ) was little changed, off less than 0.1%. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE: DIA ) slipped 0.2%. The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ ) eased 0.1%.

The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE: IWM ) dipped 0.2%. Energy And Refiners Shine As Tech Claws Back Losses The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLE ) led all S&P 500 sectors, adding 1.0% as crude prices extended their advance. The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLV ) was the second-best performer, up 0.9%, and the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLC ) added 0.7%. On the other end, the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLK ) was the session’s worst performer, down 2.3%, followed by the Industrials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLI ), off 1.8%, and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLY ), down 1.0%.

Within industry ETFs, the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (NYSE: XOP ) surged 3.6% and the VanEck Oil Services ETF (NYSE: OIH ) added 1.5%, tracking the broader energy rally. On the losing side, the iShares Biotechnology ETF (NASDAQ: IBB ) slipped 0.6% and the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSE: XRT ) fell 0.3%. Individual solar names were hit hard as rising borrowing costs weighed on project financing: First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR ) tumbled roughly 8%, SolarEdge Technologies, Inc.

(NASDAQ: SEDG ) dropped about 5%, and Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENPH ) fell around 4%. In a notable single-stock move, Oracle Corp. (NYSE: ORCL ) dropped 4.5% after issuing a force majeure notice for its New Mexico data center project, raising fresh questions about the pace of AI infrastructure buildout.

On the upside, Everpure, Inc. (NYSE: P ) rallied 18.1% as forced index-fund buying tied to its promotion into the S&P 500 combined with Street expectations for an earnings beat. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE: CRL ) climbed 5.6% after issuing an upbeat 2026 outlook at its investor day, and Valero Energy Corp.

(NYSE: VLO ) gained 4.1% as refining margins hit records alongside surging diesel prices. GoDaddy Inc. (NYSE: GDDY ) jumped 3.5% after the Financial Times reported that Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ: GEN ) made a preliminary, all-cash takeover approach for the company valued near $12.2 billion — a deal that sent Gen Digital shares down 8.2% on financing and dilution concerns.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY ) rose 3.5% after winning FDA approval for its once-weekly insulin, Onswik, and signing a licensing deal with InnoCare worth up to $3.35 billion. On the downside, Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: VKTX ) sank 14.2% after pricing an upsized $500 million offering of common stock and convertible senior notes, diluting existing shareholders. TD SYNNEX Corporation (NYSE: SNX ) slid 12.2% even after beating fiscal third-quarter revenue estimates at $21.6 billion, as gross-margin compression and a $975.6 million free-cash-flow outflow tied to AI-server inventory build overshadowed the top-line strength.

MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM ) fell 10.5% after Barry Diller’s People Inc. withdrew its long-standing buyout offer at $48.30 a share, with Diller saying “the mix was [not] coming together” as hoped. Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ: AUR ) dropped 8.5% in a classic sell-the-news reaction to its analyst and investor day, where operational milestones failed to clear already-elevated expectations.

Thursday’s Russell 1000 Top Gainers Name % change Everpure, Inc. +18.06% Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. +5.61% Valero Energy Corporation +4.05% GoDaddy Inc. +3.49% Eli Lilly and Company +3.47% Thursday’s Russell 1000 Top Losers Name % change Viking Therapeutics, Inc.

-14.24% TD SYNNEX Corporation -12.24% MGM Resorts International -10.50% Aurora Innovation, Inc. -8.47% Gen Digital Inc. -8.22% Photo: Shutterstock