U.S. equities closed lower on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 1.31%, or 700.75 points, to 52,762.30. The S&P 500 dropped 0.86%, or 66.32 points, to 7,641.66, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.00%, or 263.93 points, to 26,067.17. The CBOE Volatility Index rose 7.52% to 16.01, reflecting increased market anxiety.
Declines were broad-based, with losses concentrated in the consumer services, healthcare and industrials sectors. On the New York Stock Exchange, declining issues outnumbered advancers by nearly two-to-one at 1,776 to 946, with 86 unchanged. On Nasdaq, 2,123 stocks fell against 1,309 advances and 198 unchanged.
Among Dow components, Travelers Companies, McDonald's and Walt Disney posted modest gains of 0.63%, 0.63% and 0.36%, respectively. Walmart led declines with a 9.15% drop to $103.84, followed by Boeing at 3.20% to $215.10 and Home Depot at 2.84% to $334.52. The index's performance reflected sector weakness rather than idiosyncratic stock moves.
In the S&P 500, Nordson surged 7.96% to $334.59, reaching record highs, while Deere & Company and CF Industries also posted strong gains of 6.94% and 5.61%, respectively. Moderna led losses with a 23.55% decline to $133.32, pressured by sector rotation away from biotech. Walmart's 9.15% drop was the second-largest drag on the index.
Nasdaq-listed stocks showed wide dispersion, with Curanex Pharmaceuticals up 1,851.85% to $5.27 and Borealis Foods rising 105.85% to $1.69. Profusa fell 44.22% to $7.57, while CDT Environmental Technology Investment Holdings dropped 39.20% to $1.83. Tenon Medical declined 38.04% to $7.07.
Commodities showed mixed performance. Gold futures for December delivery rose 0.69% to $4,576.75 per troy ounce. Crude oil prices advanced, with WTI for October delivery up 2.54% to $86.50 per barrel and Brent for October gaining 1.98% to $93.43 per barrel. The U.S. Dollar Index futures were little changed at 98.80, while EUR/USD held steady at 1.17. USD/JPY rose 0.59% to 159.12.
