LIVE MARKETS-Nasdaq enters correction territory as Iran tensions, social media verdicts weigh

Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com

NASDAQ ENTERS CORRECTION TERRITORY AS IRAN TENSIONS, SOCIAL MEDIA VERDICTS WEIGH

Wall Street's main indexes fell sharply on Thursday as investors worried about an escalation in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, which has sent oil prices soaring and exacerbated inflation concerns.

U.S. President ​Donald Trump said Iran must make a deal or face a continued onslaught. But a senior Iranian official told Reuters the U.S. proposal for ending nearly four weeks of fighting is "one-sided and unfair," while stressing that diplomacy had not ended.

Of note, the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC, which ended down 10.65% from its October 29, 2025, record close, confirmed a correction. The Dow .DJI is now down 8.42% from its February 10, 2026, record finish, while the S&P 500 .SPX has declined 7.19% from its January 27, 2026, record close.

With this, a majority of S&P 500 sectors declined on Thursday with Communication Services .SPLRCL, off more than 3%, taking the biggest hit. This came as Meta Platforms META.O and Alphabet GOOGL.O fell after U.S. jury verdicts on social media harm.

Just Energy .SPNY, up 1.57%, and Utilities .SPLRCU, up 0.23%, were on the positive side. Real Estate .SPLRCR ended unchanged.

Energy scored a record closing high.

Under the surface, gold/silver miners .XAU and chip stocks .SOX were especially weak. The SOX tumbled more than 4% as memory chipmakers came under pressure after Alphabet announced a memory-saving algorithm.

Software & Services .SPLRCIS lost more than 1%. Although the index has yet to violate its late February 2026 intraday low, it notched its lowest close since November 2023. The group is now down 31.5% from its October 28, 2025, record close.

Regional banks .KRX, biotech .NBI and transports .DJT posted modest losses.

Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield US10YT=RR, at just over 4.42%, is on pace for its highest close since July of last year.

Here is a snapshot of where markets stood shortly after 4 p.m. EDT.

(Terence Gabriel)

EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS:

NVIDIA'S EARNINGS VALUATION SINKS TO LOWEST IN A YEAR; NEARLY AT PRE-CHATGPT LEVELS CLICK HERE

OIL SHOCK WILL SOFTEN, NOT SHATTER, THE US JOB MARKET CLICK HERE

INVESTORS SHOULD CONSIDER BIG BANKS AND COMPANIES IN AI FOOD CHAIN - HIGHTOWER'S LINK CLICK HERE

WALL STREET VETERAN SAYS OIL-LED INFLATION SCARE LIKELY TO FADE LIKE LAST YEAR'S TARIFF FEARS CLICK HERE

JOBLESS CLAIMS: LOW-HIRE, LOW-FIRE MODE? CLICK HERE

WALL STREET ON THE DEFENSIVE AGAIN AS CAUTIOUS TONE PERSISTS CLICK HERE

VOLATILITY ON WATCH AS NASDAQ BULLS AND BEARS BATTLE AT KEY LEVELS CLICK HERE

EUROPEAN OILS: GOLDMAN TIPS TRADERS AND GAS AS EARNINGS LOOM CLICK HERE

'ANYTHING BUT AUTOS': CARMAKERS SEEK NEW NARRATIVE BEYOND SECTOR GLOOM CLICK HERE

A BIT OF CALM AFTER THE STORM… OR BEFORE THE NEXT ONE? CLICK HERE

GOLD SELLOFF CREATES "REASONABLE" ENTRY POINT - BARCLAYS CLICK HERE

STOXX 600 DROPS 1%, OIL RISES AS MARKETS WEIGH UP MIDDLE EAST UPDATES CLICK HERE

EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: OIL UP, STOCK FUTURES DOWN CLICK HERE

HOPE AND HORMUZ CLICK HERE