US equity indexes eked out small gains on Thursday, managing to finish the week higher as dip-buyers emerged following President Donald Trump's hardline speech on Iran.
The S&P 500 Index closed 0.1% higher after swinging between a 1.5% loss and a 0.4% gain earlier in the day. The benchmark index rose 3.4% in a holiday-shortened week, its best performance since late November after five consecutive losing weeks, the longest such streak since 2022.
The Nasdaq 100 Index rose 0.1% with gains capped by a drop in Tesla Inc. after the company posted one of its worst sales quarters in years. The Cboe Volatility Index traded around 24.
Equities started sharply lower after Trump's late-Wednesday remarks undermined optimism for an early reopening to the Strait of Hormuz. Trump vowed that there would be more military attacks in the coming weeks and didn't commit to reopening the crucial waterway, telling oil-importing countries to purchase crude from the US instead.
Those losses were erased later after a state-run Iranian news agency said the country is drafting a protocol with Oman to monitor traffic through the key corridor for oil transport.
“The rest of the world saw little to like in the president's speech last night and traded accordingly,” said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers. “US traders, however, could not resist buying a dip, and without follow-through selling, up we went off the lows.”
Few were likely to take Thursday's gain as a sign of a real rebound in risk appetite.
“We remain very reactive to headlines and rhetoric around the conflict, and the market is unlikely to have a sustained upward trajectory unless there are tangible signs of de-escalation,” said Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide.
Still, notching a gain at the end of the week has been hard for the market to come by since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran. US stocks had been following a pattern of selling off on Thursday after starting the week on a stronger note. The S&P 500 was on the brink of correction territory on Monday before bouncing back strongly on Tuesday and Wednesday on reports that the US and Iran want to end the conflict soon.
“Stocks rallied for the past days driven on hope — hope alone — that there would be tidy and speedy end to the conflict in the Gulf,” said Mark Malek, chief investment officer at Muriel Siebert & Co. “Unfortunately, that view, while possible, was not highly probable, at least at the moment.”
On the data front, initial jobless claims fell to one of the lowest levels in the last two years. The US trade deficit widened in February by less than forecast as both imports and exports increased. In single-stock moves, Tesla shares fell 5.4% after the company delivered 358,023 vehicles worldwide in the first quarter, according to a statement Thursday. Analysts anticipated 372,160 on average among estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Sectors To Watch
- Energy stocks rebounded while travel and mining names fell on the prospect of higher energy prices for longer
- Metals and finished goods stocks dropped as the Trump administration is preparing to roll out tiered tariffs on steel and aluminum imports
- Shares of alternative asset managers slumped after Blue Owl Capital said it will limit redemptions from two of its private credit funds
- Space and satellite stocks advanced after NASA astronauts reached a stable orbit, kick-starting a mission to lap the moon
ALSO READ: US Holds Conflicting Stance On Iran War — What It Means For Indian Stock Market
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