US stock markets displayed a largely directionless trend on Thursday, hovering close to their record highs as investors carefully analyzed a mixed bag of earnings reports from some of Wall Street's most influential companies. Meanwhile, gold prices surged dramatically in an extraordinary safe-haven rally, reflecting growing investor anxiety.
Major Indices Show Divergent Movements
The S&P 500 edged up by less than 0.1%, maintaining its position near the all-time high established earlier in the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average demonstrated more strength, rising 162 points or 0.3%. In contrast, the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.6%, weighed down by significant losses in large technology stocks, as reported by AP.
Technology Sector Drives Market Divergence
Technology shares were primarily responsible for the market's mixed performance. Microsoft experienced a substantial slump of 10.4%, despite reporting stronger-than-expected profit and revenue for the latest quarter. Investors instead focused on the company's rising capital expenditure, concerns over the pace of growth in its Azure cloud business, and uncertainty regarding how quickly its artificial-intelligence initiatives will translate into substantial profits.
Helping to offset that drag was Meta Platforms, which jumped 8.6% after surpassing profit expectations, even as the company signaled continued heavy investment in AI development.
Other Notable Corporate Performances
Elsewhere in the market, Tesla traded lower by 0.7% following an initially positive reaction to its quarterly results. While the automaker posted profits above estimates, earnings were sharply lower compared to the same period a year earlier. Chief executive Elon Musk urged investors to look beyond weak car sales and focus on longer-term bets such as robotaxis and robotics.
IBM rose 7.1% after topping both profit and revenue forecasts, while Southwest Airlines surged 9.7% despite missing profit estimates, buoyed by issuing a strong outlook for 2026 driven by operational changes including baggage fees and assigned seating.
On the downside, ServiceNow slid 9.2% even after delivering better-than-expected quarterly profits, as investors continued to trim positions following a strong run earlier in the year.
Commodities and Currency Movements
The most dramatic market moves were again witnessed in commodities. Gold jumped another 4.5% to $5,579 an ounce, extending a rally that has seen the precious metal gain more than 25% so far this year and roughly double over the past 12 months. Prices have climbed sharply as investors seek safety amid concerns over lofty equity valuations, geopolitical risks, tariff threats, and heavy government debt burdens.
The US dollar weakened slightly against major currencies, continuing a broader downtrend driven by similar concerns. In the bond market, Treasury yields remained steady, with the 10-year yield holding at 4.26%.
Federal Reserve Policy and Global Markets
Markets also digested the Federal Reserve's decision on Wednesday to pause further interest-rate cuts after three reductions late last year, as inflation remains above the central bank's 2% target.
Overseas, stock markets rose across much of Europe and Asia. South Korea's Kospi gained 1% to reach another record, helped by strong advances in chipmaker SK Hynix.
