US close: Major indices fall as trade uncertainty, tech weakness persist

Major indices closed lower on Thursday as investors weighed a potential rollback of trade tariffs and artificial intelligence-linked equities came under pressure yet again.

Source: Sharecast

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.03% at 46,822.10, while the S&P 500 shed 1.07% to 6,723.73 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.86% softer at 23,062.53.

The Dow closed 488.90 points lower on Thursday, more than reversing modest gains recroded in the previous session as market participants zeroed in on a Supreme Court hearing on Donald Trump's "reciprocal tariffs" and a pair of fresh PMI readings.

US stocks were sharply lower at the close on Thursday as traders continued to focus on a Supreme Court hearing in Washington, where justices appeared sceptical of the legality of Donald Trump's sweeping trade taxes, with a ruling against the administration's policy set to pave the way for tariff relief.

Elsewhere, AI-exposed stocks began initially looked set to rebound from valuation concerns earlier in the week after Advanced Micro Devices reported better-than-expected third-quarter results, but firms like Qualcomm, AMD, Palantir, Oracle, Nvidia and Meta Platforms were all trading lower at the end of the session.

In terms of Thursday's earnings, Warner Bros Discovery's quarterly numbers fell short of Wall Street expectations due to lackluster growth in its streaming unit and continued declines in its cable TV arm. Following a strong comparative quarter in 2024, when Warner got a boost from the Paris Olympics and crime drama series 'The Penguin', the company's streaming division, home to both the HBO Max and Discovery+ platforms, was hurt by a dearth of new programming.

After the close, Airbnb said Q3 profits had been bosted by strong international demand, while Expedia raised its full-year guidance as the online travel agency began to see travel demand across all income levels.

On the macro front, US employers cut 153,074 jobs last month, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, up 175% year-on-year, with the largest October figure for more than 20 years coming as industries continued to adopt AI and ramp-up cost cutting efforts. October's number took total layoffs for the year to 1.1m through - marking a 65% increase on the same period in 2024. Job cuts so far in 2025 are at their highest level since 2020, when 2.3m layoffs were announced over the same timeframe.

Rostro's Joshua Mahony said: "This morning's 153,074 job cuts for the month of October represents a 175% rise in cuts compared with last October, with challenger attributing AI adoption as a key reason for this. Coming hot off the heels of the Amazon confirmation of 14,000 job losses, it is notable that today's report saw technology as the main area being impacted by cuts. While there remain key concerns around the jobs market, the fact that we have seen expectations of a December rate cut fall to 67% signals the significant shift in confidence since the Fed's recent rate decision."

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $85.82 1.69%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $69.06 0.80%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $313.42 0.56%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $39.82 0.33%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $153.01 0.23%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $101.68 0.21%
American Express Co. (AXP) $365.84 0.01%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $497.10 -1.98%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $321.56 -1.89%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $71.04 -1.47%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $315.59 -1.33%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $110.49 -0.78%
Boeing Co. (BA) $196.50 -0.57%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $269.77 -0.14%

S&P 500 - Risers

Apache Corp. (APA) $23.64 9.14%
Air Products & Chemicals Inc. (APD) $258.79 8.94%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $219.70 2.75%
Rockwell Automation Inc. (ROK) $372.50 2.73%
Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG) $140.77 2.53%
Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $26.37 2.41%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $163.60 2.19%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $156.74 2.16%
Franklin Resources Inc. (BEN) $23.25 2.15%
Jack Henry & Associates Inc. (JKHY) $163.08 2.03%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Carmax Inc. (KMX) $30.88 -24.33%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $11.02 -12.68%
Tapestry Inc. (TPR) $98.81 -9.61%
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $237.70 -7.27%
Fortinet Inc. (FTNT) $80.54 -6.34%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $239.27 -5.31%
Mosaic Company (MOS) $24.92 -4.96%
Copart Inc. (CPRT) $39.96 -4.70%
Dollar General Corp (DG) $95.94 -4.64%
Arista Networks Inc. (ANET) $134.02 -4.56%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $127.04 3.01%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $219.70 2.75%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $163.60 2.19%
Biogen Inc (BIIB) $156.74 2.16%
Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) $123.40 0.67%
Vodafone Group Plc ADS (VOD) $11.34 0.62%
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $196.38 0.50%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $646.97 0.43%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $238.33 0.35%
Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) $56.19 0.30%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $11.02 -12.68%
Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $5.70 -8.87%
Mercadolibre Inc. (MELI) $2,128.33 -7.54%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $70.64 -3.84%
Fiserv Inc. (FI) $61.63 -3.70%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $188.08 -3.65%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $173.20 -3.63%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $445.91 -3.50%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $224.54 -3.26%
Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $217.91 -3.22%

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