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Wall Street closed sharply lower on Thursday as conflicting signals over a potential U.S.-Iran peace agreement rattled investor confidence. President Donald Trump's ambiguous remarks about whether Washington was willing or able to negotiate with Tehran triggered a broad market sell-off, sending major indexes deep into the red.
The Nasdaq Composite officially entered correction territory, tumbling 2.4% to close at 21,408 points — now more than 10% below its recent record high. The S&P 500 dropped 1.7% to 6,478 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1% to finish near 45,959 points.
Trump's public statements were sharply at odds with behind-the-scenes diplomatic activity. While he described Iranian negotiators as "strange" and warned of devastating consequences if talks failed, reports emerged that Tehran had privately signaled openness to discussions. Trump later announced a 10-day extension on the suspension of U.S. strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure, saying negotiations were progressing well despite media reports to the contrary.
Oil markets moved in the opposite direction, with Brent crude surging over 5% to around $107 per barrel and WTI gaining 4.5% to approximately $94. Fears of a sustained energy shock have raised concerns about renewed inflation and potential interest rate hikes globally. The OECD warned that prolonged conflict could significantly hamper economic growth.
Trump also revealed that Iran allowed ten oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz as a goodwill gesture during negotiations, signaling cautious diplomatic progress despite the heated rhetoric.
On the equities front, memory chip stocks including Micron, Western Digital, and Seagate fell between 6% and 11% following news of a Google compression algorithm that could reduce AI-related memory demand. Meta Platforms dropped roughly 8% after being found liable for social media addiction harm to minors. Salesforce bucked the trend, rising 2% on a new government contract win.
