Wall Street closed mixed on Thursday as investors assessed U.S.-Iran talks alongside a fresh batch of fourth-quarter earnings results. The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 ended in negative territory, while the Dow all finished in positive territory.
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 0.03%, or 17.05 points, to close at 49,499.20. Sixteen components of the 30-stock index ended in positive territory, while 14 ended in negative territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 1.2%, or finished at 273.69 points, to close at 22,878.38.
The S&P 500 fell 0.5%, to end at 6,908.86. Of the 11 broad sectors of the broad-market index, four ended in negative territory, while seven ended in the positive zone. The Information Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK), the Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) and the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) fell 1.8%, 0.8% and 0.4%, respectively, while the Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF) rose 1.3%.
The fear gauge, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), increased by 3.9% to 18.63. A total of 19.55 billion shares were traded on Thursday, lower than the last 20-session average of 20.31 billion. The S&P 500 posted 37 new 52-week highs and one new low, and the Nasdaq Composite recorded 88 new highs and 88 new lows.
Gold Holds, Oil Dips Amid U.S. Iran Tensions
Gold was priced at $5,177 an ounce on Thursday as the U.S. and Iran agreed to carry on discussions over the nuclear program. The talks in Geneva ended without an agreement, but the countries have agreed to meet again in Vienna next week. The talks will center on sanctions relief and the nuclear issue. Oil prices also fell, with WTI crude down to $65.03 a barrel and Brent up at $70.58 a barrel. The prices rose sharply following the escalation of the crisis between the United States and Iran, which heightened concerns about the global supply and geopolitical developments.
Q4 Earnings Results
Salesforce, Inc. CRM reported fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of $3.81 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.03 per share. Revenues of $11.2 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.32%.
KBR, Inc. KBR reported fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of $0.99 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.95 per share. Revenues came in at $1.89 billion, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.21%.
PENN Entertainment, Inc. PENN reported fourth-quarter 2025 adjusted earnings of $0.07 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $0.23 per share. Revenues of $1.81 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.18%.
Consequently, shares of Salesforce, KBR, Inc., and PENN Entertainment rose 4%, 3% and 16.8%, respectively. Salesforce carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Economic Data
In economic data released on Thursday, the Labor Department said that jobless claims totaled 212,000 for the week ending Feb. 21, an increase of 4,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 208,000. The four-week moving average was 220,250, an increase of 750 from the previous week’s revised average of 219,500.
Continuing claims came in at 11,833,000, a decrease of 31,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 1,864,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,847,500, an increase of 3,500 from the previous week's revised average of 1,844,000.
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Salesforce, Inc. (CRM): Free Stock Analysis Report KBR, Inc. (KBR): Free Stock Analysis Report PENN Entertainment, Inc. (PENN): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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