U.S. stocks pared steeper losses on Thursday as hopes for progress toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz helped stabilize a market rattled by surging Treasury yields. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 0.4%, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite declined roughly 0.2%
The rebound from session lows came as investors weighed competing forces: stubborn inflation, a worsening bond selloff and geopolitical uncertainty on one side, and signs of possible U.S.-Iran negotiations on the other. The 10-year Treasury yield remained above 5%, keeping pressure on equities even as hopes for improved oil flows provided some relief.
Market Movers:
- Everpure (P) +20%: Shares surged after the data-storage and management company unveiled a broader growth strategy and projected fiscal 2028 revenue of $7 billion to $7.3 billion, well above Wall Street expectations. Everpure also expects non-GAAP operating income of $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion, signaling a sharp acceleration in profitability.
- Nebius Group (NBIS) +5%: Shares rose after BNP Paribas Exane upgraded the AI infrastructure company to Outperform from Neutral and lifted its price target to $399 from $260. The bullish call follows recent price increases for Nvidia GPU cloud instances and AMD EPYC CPU services, reinforcing expectations for strong AI infrastructure demand.
- Stitch Fix (SFIX) -23%: Shares plunged after the company issued weaker-than-expected fiscal 2027 revenue guidance amid a difficult consumer backdrop and lower active-client base. Stitch Fix expects full-year revenue of $1.31 billion to $1.36 billion, below the $1.41 billion consensus.
- Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) -13%: Shares tumbled after Viking priced concurrent offerings of 7.85 million common shares at $35 each and $225 million of convertible senior notes. The financing will support development and commercialization of VK2735 and VK3019, but the new stock issuance raised dilution concerns just days after encouraging obesity-drug data sent shares soaring.
- MGM Resorts (MGM) -10%: Shares dropped after Barry Diller’s People Inc. withdrew its proposal to acquire the casino operator for $48.30 per share in cash. People remains MGM’s largest shareholder with roughly 27% of the company and said it continues to see potential for a future strategic transaction.
- TD Synnex (SNX) -9%: Shares fell despite fiscal third-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue comfortably beating Wall Street forecasts, while fourth-quarter guidance also topped expectations. The negative reaction came even as management highlighted growing opportunities from enterprise AI deployments, data-center modernization and AI-driven security spending.
- Oracle (ORCL) -7% and Bloom Energy (BE) -6%: Shares declined following reports that Oracle issued a force majeure notice related to Project Jupiter, a major New Mexico data-center development expected to use Bloom Energy fuel cells. Oracle said the project remains on schedule and that it remains fully committed, but the notice raised concerns about potential costs and delays surrounding the massive AI infrastructure buildout.
Treasury Yields Keep Wall Street on Edge
The bond market remains one of the biggest obstacles for stocks. The 10-year Treasury yield recently pushed above 5.1%, its highest level since 2007, while the 30-year yield climbed above 5.4% to levels not seen since 2004.
Persistent inflation concerns are driving expectations that monetary policy could tighten further following the Fed’s recent rate increase. Higher yields create competition for equities while simultaneously raising borrowing costs, making the latest bond selloff particularly challenging for richly valued growth stocks.
Hormuz Hopes Help Stocks Recover
Stocks bounced from their lows after reports that U.S. and Iranian negotiators were exploring a phased arrangement that could eventually reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The discussions remain preliminary, but the possibility of restoring more normal shipping through the critical energy route was enough to ease some of the market’s geopolitical anxiety.
Oil remained higher Thursday, with Brent above $105 per barrel, but crude retreated from its session highs following the reports. Any sustained improvement in Hormuz shipping could help ease one of the biggest sources of inflation pressure facing markets.
AI Trade Faces a New Test
AI remains a powerful market theme, but Thursday highlighted a widening divide within the trade. Nebius rallied on optimism around cloud pricing and demand, while Oracle and Bloom Energy sank as investors questioned the timing and cost of one of the massive data-center projects supporting the AI buildout.
The contrast puts execution increasingly in focus. Investors have spent much of the year rewarding companies tied to soaring AI infrastructure spending, but Project Jupiter shows that financing, power availability and construction costs can create significant risks as projects become larger and more complex.
Looking Ahead
Wall Street remains caught between resilient corporate growth and a difficult macro backdrop. Any progress toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz could reduce pressure on oil and inflation, but Treasury yields above 5% remain a significant hurdle for stocks. Investors will also continue watching developments surrounding major AI infrastructure projects and the U.S.-China summit. With geopolitical headlines, oil and bond yields moving markets rapidly, the next leg for equities may depend less on earnings and more on whether some of those macro pressures finally begin to ease.