US equities retreated on Thursday, erasing part of Wednesday’s rebound amid mounting concerns that a protracted conflict in Iran could weigh on global growth. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 edged lower, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average underperformed with a decline of more than 0.5%.
Refined fuel prices and long-dated U.S. Treasury yields resumed their climb, reflecting renewed inflationary pressures. This prompted rate traders to scale back expectations from multiple Federal Reserve cuts last week to just a single cut priced in for this year.
Pharmaceuticals and other defensive sectors, which had initially held up better during the early-week risk-off shift tied to the conflict, also moved lower. Walmart and Johnson & Johnson both fell more than 2%, contributing significantly to the Dow’s lagging performance.
Asset managers remained in focus after BlackRock wrote down a private loan to zero, deepening recent pessimism toward the private credit space. BlackRock’s shares slipped about 1%, while Bridgewater declined 3.5%.
By contrast, Broadcom advanced 6% after issuing an upbeat and ambitious outlook for next year, bucking the broader market weakness.
