Dow Jones Nears Records, Tech Pullbacks, Treasury Yields Rise Again: What's Driving Markets Thursday?

Wall Street traded slightly higher during midday Thursday as investors assessed the ongoing earnings season while closely monitoring policy signals from President Donald Trump.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed, buoyed by strength in industrials, utilities, and healthcare stocks, pushing the blue-chip index closer to record highs.

Tech stocks retreated, pulling back after Wednesday's sharp rally. Semiconductors led the decline, surrendering a significant portion of their previous gains, which were fueled by optimism over the $500 billion AI Stargate initiative.

The iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX slipped 0.8%, on track to snap five straight sessions of gains.

Trump addressed the World Economic Forum via videoconference, advocating for expanded oil & gas production and proposing a 15% corporate tax rate for businesses relocating manufacturing to the U.S.

He also reiterated plans to impose tariffs on countries with large trade deficits with the U.S., issuing warnings to Europe, Canada, and China.

Additionally, Trump called on Saudi Arabia and OPEC to lower oil prices. Crude fell 0.7%, marking its fifth consecutive session of losses, the longest losing streak since June 2024.

In the bond market, volatility resurfaced after a brief period of stability. The 30-year Treasury yield climbed 4 basis points to 4.89%.

Bitcoin BTC/USD rebounded 2.2% to $105,000, erasing Wednesday's losses.

Thursday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

Major Indices	Price	1-day %chg
Dow Jones	44,539.31	0.9%
S&P 500	6,106.05	0.3%
Russell 2000	2,308.39	0.2%
Nasdaq 100	21,828.09	-0.1%

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY rose 0.3% to $608.16.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA rose 0.9% to $445.01.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series QQQ slipped 0.1% to $531.03.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM inched 0.3% up to $228.85.
• The Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund XLI rallied, up 1.2%; the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLE lagged, down 0.3%.

Thursday’s Stock Movers

• Arm Holdings plc ARM tumbled 8% after Elon Musk questioned the financial viability about the Stargate initiative.
• American Airlines Group Inc. AAL slid nearly 8% despite surpassing fourth-quarter earnings expectations, as its first-quarter outlook fell short of analysts’ forecasts.
• Other stocks reacting to earnings were GE Aerospace GE, up 6.7%, Union Pacific Corp. UNP, up 4.8%, Freeport-McMoRan Inc. FCX, down 2.3%, Alaska Air Group Inc. ALK, up 3.9%, Kinder Morgan Inc. KMI, down 2%, Discover Financial Services DFS, up 2.8%, Alcoa Corp. AA, down 3.6%.
• Companies slated to report earnings after the close include Intuitive Surgical Inc. ISRG, down 0.3%, Texas Instruments Inc. TXN, up 1.2%, CSX Corp. CSX.

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