Dow Jones falls from record high as oil rebound weighs on stocks

4:15pm: Muted closing

Wall Street ended Thursday on a softer note, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average pulling back from its record high as rising oil prices and higher Treasury yields dampened investor sentiment.

The Dow fell 464 points, or 0.9%, to 53,885. The S&P 500 slipped 14 points, or 0.2%, to 7,710, while the Nasdaq edged 15 points lower, or 0.1%, to 26,348.

Energy markets were a key focus after oil prices rebounded sharply. Brent crude climbed roughly 3.5% as investors kept a close eye on developments surrounding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, fueling concerns about global supply. Meanwhile, gold futures hovered around $4,315 an ounce as investors continued to seek safe-haven assets.

Technology stocks also lost momentum. Software companies and chipmakers came under pressure as investors locked in profits following the sector's strong gains earlier this month.

Attention now turns to another round of corporate earnings due after the closing bell, with reports expected from Airbnb, Cloudflare, Twilio, Atlassian (NASDAQ:TEAM) and Roku. Those results could help set the tone for trading heading into the end of the week.

3:45pm: Proactive news headlines

• First Phosphate Corp. (CSE:PHOS, OTCQX:FRSPF, FRA:KD0, OTC:FPHOY) received continued support from Noble Capital Markets, which maintained its Outperform rating after the company secured C$4.84 million in federal funding for infrastructure planning at its Bégin-Lamarche phosphate project in Quebec.
• Fox Tungsten Ltd (TSX-V:FOXT, OTC:HPYCF, FRA:1HC) is advancing its British Columbia tungsten project with an active drilling program, a fully funded treasury of about $15 million and a preliminary economic assessment targeted for the second quarter of 2027.
• Fineqia International Inc (CSE:FNQ) reported that global digital asset exchange-traded products ended a two-month losing streak in July, with assets under management rising 1.8% to $108.7 billion mainly due to higher cryptocurrency prices rather than new investor inflows.
• Midnight Sun Mining Corp (TSX-V:MMA, OTCQB:MDNGF) identified multiple new exploration targets beyond the previously drilled mineralized corridor at its Dumbwa copper deposit in Zambia following a high-resolution ground magnetic survey.
• Alvopetro Energy Ltd (TSX-V:ALV, OTC:ALVOF, FRA:A6Y0) reported higher second-quarter revenue, funds flow from operations and net income as stronger natural gas prices and increased production lifted sales volumes year over year.
• Nextech3D.AI (CSE:NTAR, OTCQX:NEXCF, FRA:1SS) reported strong growth in customer contracts and contracted value across its Eventdex, Map D and KraftyLab platforms during the first seven months of 2026.
• Thistle Resources (TSX-V:TRCG, OTC:TRCGF) reported trench sampling results of up to 14.4% antimony and 7.59 ounces of silver per tonne from its Brunswick Antimony Project in New Brunswick.
• BioVie Inc (NASDAQ:BIVI, NASDAQ:BIVIW) said its Parkinson's disease drug candidate bezisterim met the primary endpoints of a Phase 2 trial, showing improvements in inflammatory biomarkers and multiple clinical outcomes compared with placebo.
• Domestic Metals Corp (TSX-V:DMCU, OTCQB:DMCUF, FRA:03E0) plans to begin a 9,000-metre diamond drilling program at its Smart Creek copper project in Montana to test multiple high-priority porphyry copper targets.

2:40pm: Market movers

• AppLovin Corp (NASDAQ:APP) shares plunged more than 20% after the mobile advertising platform reported second-quarter revenue that missed Wall Street expectations despite strong year-over-year growth and earnings that met forecasts.
• Datadog Inc (NASDAQ:DDOG) shares fell more than 18% as investors focused on slowing bookings growth and weaker third-quarter guidance despite the software company reporting better-than-expected second-quarter revenue growth.
• SpaceX Corp (NASDAQ:SPCX) shares gained about 2.5% after the expiration of its first major lockup period, which more than doubled the company's public float by making over 900 million insider-held shares eligible for trading.
• Fiserv Inc (NYSE:FI) shares dropped more than 3% after the payments technology company lowered its 2026 outlook and reported second-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue below Wall Street expectations.
• Kenvue Inc (NYSE:KVUE) shares slipped about 2% after the consumer health company posted second-quarter results that narrowly missed analyst estimates and reported lower margins than a year earlier.
• Midnight Sun Mining Corp (TSX-V:MMA, OTCQB:MDNGF) identified multiple new exploration targets beyond the previously drilled mineralized corridor at its Dumbwa copper deposit in Zambia following a high-resolution ground magnetic survey.
• Western Digital Corp (NASDAQ:WDC) shares declined 11% after the data storage company delivered better-than-expected quarterly results but disappointed investors with a gross margin outlook that fell short of elevated expectations.
• Sandisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) shares fell nearly 7% after the data storage company issued fiscal first-quarter guidance that came in slightly below Wall Street expectations despite reporting quarterly earnings and revenue that beat estimates.

1:15pm: SpaceX lockup expires

SpaceX Corp (NASDAQ:SPCX) (SpaceX Corp (NASDAQ:SPCX)) shares rose about 2.5% on Thursday, despite the expiration of the first major lockup period that made more than 900 million shares held by insiders and other investors eligible to trade.

The release of up to 911.5 million restricted shares more than doubled SpaceX's public float, increasing it from roughly 639 million shares to about 1.55 billion.

The stock had fallen nearly 14% on Wednesday as investors anticipated the potential for increased selling following the lockup expiration.

11:50am: Jobless claims stay low

New U.S. labor market data pointed to continued resilience, with initial jobless claims totaling 199,000 for the week ended August 1, below economists' expectations of 205,000, signaling layoffs remain subdued.

Meanwhile, preliminary second-quarter labor productivity rose 1.4% quarter over quarter, more than double the 0.6% increase forecast by economists, suggesting businesses are generating stronger output per worker despite a slowing economy.

11:10am: Applovin sinks

Shares of Applovin were down nearly 20% on Thursday morning after last night's top-line revenue miss and softer-than-expected guidance for the upcoming quarter. 

AppLovin reported revenue of $1.924 billion for the quarter ended June 30, up 53% from $1.259 billion a year earlier but below the $1.94 billion consensus estimate.

Diluted earnings per share came in at $3.76, matching analyst expectations.

For the third quarter, AppLovin guided for revenue of between $2.055 billion and $2.085 billion, implying continued year-over-year growth. The company expects adjusted EBITDA of $1.71 billion to $1.74 billion, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 83%.

10:00am: Mixed open

US stocks are off to a mixed start on Thursday as investors sort through another busy day of corporate earnings and prepare for more market-moving reports after the closing bell.

The Dow slipped 62 points, or 0.1%, to 54,288 in early trading. The S&P 500 edged up 9 points, or 0.1%, to 7,733, while the Nasdaq gained 45 points, or 0.2%, to 26,409.

Technology stocks are once again driving much of the early action. Sandisk shares tumbled 9% after the memory-chip maker issued guidance that fell short of Wall Street's lofty expectations. Western Digital also moved lower despite posting quarterly results that topped analyst estimates, suggesting investors were focused more on the outlook than the latest earnings.

AppLovin was another notable decliner, with shares plunging 14% after the advertising technology company delivered earnings that disappointed investors.

Meanwhile, SpaceX is attracting attention as its first post-IPO lock-up period expires. Up to 911.5 million shares held by employees and early investors become eligible for sale, raising the possibility of increased volatility.

"SpaceX provides a second source of uncertainty today as its first post-IPO lock-up expires," said Zaheer Anwari, CEO of The Revacy Fund. "As many as 912 million shares held by employees and early investors, valued at roughly $116 billion, will become eligible for sale. That does not mean every share will reach the market, but the potential increase in supply could create further volatility after the stock fell sharply following its first results as a public company."

Looking ahead, investors will be watching several high-profile earnings reports after the market closes, including results from DraftKings, Airbnb and Rigetti Computing, which could set the tone for trading heading into the end of the week.

8:00am: Tech earnings undermine confidence

Wall Street was predicted to see a mixed open on Thursday, as another batch of technology earnings undermines confidence and apparent progress towards an Iran deal raises fears of yet another false dawn.

Dow Jones futures were up 57 points, or 0.1%, with the blue-chip index on course to build on the previous session's record close. S&P 500 futures have edged 0.1% higher, while Nasdaq futures were down 0.6%.

AppLovin, Western Digital and SanDisk were leading the pre-market declines, falling almost 19%, 15% and 10%, respectively, after reporting overnight. Bucking the trend, eBay was up 1.4%.

This comes off the back of a mixed midweek session, when the Dow rose 0.5%, but the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% and the Nasdaq fell 0.8%, ending a four-day winning streak.

Investors are also weighing tentative progress over the Strait of Hormuz, where an agreement has been agreed between Iran and Oman. Pakistan said it hoped this would help restart technical talks between Washington and Tehran.

Tehran said the deal was close to completion, but some Iranian sources rejected Donald Trump’s claim that an agreement was imminent and said important details remained unresolved, with questions remaining over control of shipping and Tehran’s demand for the US blockade of Iranian ports to be lifted.

Oil prices were moving higher despite the diplomatic signals, with West Texas Intermediate crude up 1.3% at $76.20 a barrel, suggesting traders remain wary of placing too much faith in the latest round of optimism.

Today’s economic data includes initial jobless claims, second-quarter productivity, unit labour costs and wholesale trade figures.

Market analyst Kathleen Brooks at XTB said the market could be a bit "directionless" as we lead up to some major event risk in the form of Friday’s US jobs report. 

"Payrolls are always important, but they are taking on extra significance since the Fed has dropped forward guidance."

She also flagged SpaceX, where shares were more than 2% higher in overnight trading, as it "could attempt a recovery later today", with the stock "worth watching closely" today as it faces a big hurdle with stock lock-ups coming to an end.

"It is also a highly volatile stock, so if it recovers it could be a sign of stronger overall sentiment for the index."

On the corporate front, ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP, XETRA:YCP), Howmet Aerospace, Datadog and Constellation Energy report before the opening bell, followed by Cloudflare and Monster Beverage after the close.