Closing Bell: Dow Sinks, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Lower, on Bond Market Treasury Buyback Fears

It was a rough trading session with major indices falling a day after the U.S. Treasury said it would commence buybacks of long-dated government debt. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated the buybacks could expand beyond what was announced, according to reports. But Treasury yields moved higher, raising concerns about higher borrowing costs that could deflate market growth prospects. Concurrently, U.S.-Iran tensions sent oil prices higher. The U.S. benchmark rose more than 2% to more than $86 per barrel. 

For the day, the S&P 500 (SPX) fell 0.87%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DJI) was down 1.32%. The small-cap Russell 2000 (RUT) fell 1.34%. The Nasdaq-100 (NDX) was off by 0.72%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) rose 0.53%. 

Here are four things to watch from Thursday’s market action: 

Cryptocurrency stocks and some shares related to crypto trading rallied after President Donald Trump urged Congress to pass the stalled Clarity Act. Among stocks that were impacted by the crypto headline: Strategy (MSTR) rose 7.8%; it has significant Bitcoin holdings. Crypto exchange Coinbase Global (COIN) was up 7.6%. Bullish (BLSH), a digital asset exchange, was up nearly 5.7%. Circle Internet Group (CRCL), which issues dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies ("stablecoins"), was up 6.5%. 

Walmart (WMT) stock tumbled more than 9% Thursday. The company’s quarterly results revealed that U.S. comparable sales grew by just 2.6%, the slowest pace in over six years. Otherwise, earnings per share beat analyst expectations, and Walmart increased its full-year guidance. 

Alibaba Group Holdings (BABA) shares rose nearly 1.3% despite a decline in net profit of 76% to 10.54 billion yuan, according to reports. Revenue rose to 268.95 billion yuan on strength in Alibaba Cloud and AI-related products. What lifted the stock was commentary from the company that AI investment could break even within three years, according to Reuters. Another report noted that Nvidia (NVDA) AI chips Alibaba purchased as far back as 2018 are operating at full capacity in its AI infrastructure. Shares of Nvidia were down 0.33%. 

Deere & Co. (DE) shares surged nearly 7% after it reported quarterly results, with strong performance in its Construction & Forestry division bolstered by infrastructure and data center demand. 

For economic and earnings calendars for the remainder of the week, see Week Ahead: Retail Earnings, FOMC Minutes, Housing Data in Focus  

Angrej Singh contributed to this report 

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