US stocks slipped for a second straight session on Thursday, pulling back from the record highs notched earlier in the week as investors weighed rising Treasury yields, fresh jobs data, corporate earnings, and shifting expectations around a potential deal to reopen shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The S&P 500 fell roughly 0.2% from Wednesday's close of 7,709.96, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped about 0.1% from its prior close of 26,348.35. The Dow Jones Industrial Average led the retreat, dropping roughly 0.9% from a Wednesday close near 53,885, according to market updates from Yahoo Finance and TheStreet. Exact closing figures for Thursday's session were not immediately available.
The declines came just days after the Dow briefly pushed above 54,000 for the first time and the S&P 500 closed above 7,700 for the first time, milestones that had capped a strong run for major indexes this summer.
What's Weighing on Markets
Traders pointed to a mix of factors behind the pullback. Rising Treasury yields have made bonds more competitive with stocks and pushed up borrowing costs across the economy, while newly released jobs data added to uncertainty over the pace of the labor market and, by extension, the path of interest rates. A steady stream of corporate earnings reports has also given investors reason to reassess valuations after months of gains.
Energy markets added another layer of complexity. Shifting expectations around a possible deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which a large share of the world's oil transits, have stirred fresh debate over the outlook for energy prices and, in turn, inflation. Any resolution that eases fears of a supply disruption through the strait could ultimately temper inflation concerns, while a stalled or uncertain outcome tends to keep a risk premium embedded in oil prices.
Even with the two-day slide, all three major indexes remained close to the record territory reached earlier in the week, and analysts cautioned against reading too much into a short pullback after such a strong run. Still, the combination of higher yields and unresolved geopolitical questions has left traders noticeably more cautious than they were just days earlier, when fresh records were being set almost daily.
