US stocks extended their losing streak into Thursday, pressured by Middle East tensions, climbing oil prices, and anxiety that the Federal Reserve may need to raise interest rates in response to persistent inflation.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 fell 0.9% to 29,161 points, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.4% to 52,153, and the S&P 500 dropped 0.5% to 7,598 — marking the Dow's fourth consecutive weak session.
The European Central Bank raised its key interest rate by 0.25 percentage points, exactly as expected, shifting investor focus to the Fed's upcoming policy decision next week. Ahead of that, Friday's US inflation data will carry heavy weight. Thursday's own producer-price report for August came in stronger than anticipated, reinforcing those worries.
A wave of selling hit technology names, particularly chip and memory makers that had previously outperformed despite the broader market weakness. Western Digital, ARM, Intel, Sandisk, and Micron all retreated as much as 5%. The pressure intensified after China-based Deepseek unveiled a new AI model, increasing competitive strain on US peers.
After the close, Oracle and Adobe were set to release quarterly results that could further shape sentiment in the tech sector. Both shares traded lower in advance; Oracle was down roughly 3%, weighed by ongoing investor concern over the debt burden required to fund AI infrastructure build-outs — a theme that dragged on the stock through June and July.
In mining, Freeport-McMoran and Southern Copper each shed more than 7% as copper and silver prices underwent a sharp correction. The pullback was attributed to delayed US tariff decisions and recession fears fueled by elevated oil costs.
Among individual movers, Macy's fell 2.4% after its quarterly guidance for the third quarter missed expectations. American Eagle Outfitters was hit harder, dropping 13% on disappointing sales figures.
Cooper Companies plunged 15% after the contact-lens maker lowered its growth outlook and cancelled a planned sale of its CooperSurgical division, prompting Bank of America to retract its buy recommendation. On the positive side, drone maker AeroVironment rose nearly 6% after reporting quarterly revenue that exceeded market forecasts.
