Stocks were sharply lower in midday trading Thursday, one day after major indexes posted their first gains of the week, as the market struggles to recover from a recent slump sparked by concerns about the health of the economy.
The S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite were down 1.2% and 1.7%, respectively, in recent trading, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.1%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite posted solid gains on Wednesday following an encouraging reading on consumer prices, as the market took a breather from a sell-off that has erased the big post-election gains that major indexes had recorded.
Entering today’s session, the S&P 500 was 8.9% below its record closing high set just three weeks ago, while the Dow and Nasdaq were down 8.1% and 12.5%, respectively, from their December all-time highs. Investor sentiment has soured amid uncertainty about the potential impact of policies coming from the Trump White House, notably tariffs, and concerns about a slowdown in the economy.
Market participants were digesting fresh economic data released this morning. The Producer Price Index, a key measure of inflation at the wholesale level, showed that prices held steady in February, compared with the 0.3% increase economists had expected. The cooler-than-anticipated PPI reading, on one hand, is a positive sign that the Federal Reserve’s efforts to stamp out inflation are working, though it may also raise fears that economic activity is slowing.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking Thursday morning in an interview with CNBC , said that he’s “not concerned about a little bit of volatility over three weeks.” He said the Trump administration is focused on the “real economy” and creating economic and market gains over the long term.
Shares of the world’s largest technology companies, which led yesterday’s rally, were mostly lower on Thursday. EV maker Tesla (TSLA), which has lost more than half its value since hitting a record high in December, was down 5% and Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META) dropped 4%, while Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN) and Alphabet (GOOG) each fell more than 2%. Microsoft (MSFT) and Broadcom (AVGO) were each down about 1%, while AI chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) inched higher.
Adobe (ADBE) shares were down 13%, leading S&P decliners, after the software provider reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results but issued disappointing guidance. Server Maker Super Micro Computer (SMCI) and analytics software provider Palantir (PLTR), two AI investor favorites that have been particularly volatile lately, were both down 5%.
Intel (INTC) was the big gainer today, with shares rising 16%, after the beleaguered chipmaker announced late Wednesday that former board member and chip industry veteran Lip-Bu Tan had been named CEO.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which has fallen sharply in recent weeks amid the mounting concerns about the economy, was at 4.31% in recent trading, compared with 4.32% at yesterday’s close. The yield, which affects borrowing costs on all sorts of loans, was trading below 4.20% earlier this week.
Bitcoin was at $81,000, down from an overnight high of $81,400. Gold futures were up 1.4% at $2,990 an ounce, approaching a record high, while West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, fell 1.3% to $66.80 per barrel.
UiPath Stocks Sinks as Outlook Hit by Federal Spending Cuts
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Shares of UiPath (PATH) plunged to an all-time low Thursday after the maker of automated software gave weaker-than-expected guidance as it warned Trump administration spending cuts and changing economic conditions will hurt results.
The company sees current-quarter revenue of $330 million to $335 million, and fiscal 2026 revenue of $1.525 billion to $1.530 billion. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha were looking for $369.6 million and $1.59 billion, respectively.
Chief Operating and Financial Officer Ashim Gupta explained that UiPath was monitoring “many moving parts in the macroeconomic landscape, including the U.S. public sector and global economic conditions.” Gupta added that “while we remain optimistic about the long-term opportunity in the U.S. public sector, the ongoing transition has created short-term uncertainty for deal closures,” and that factored into the outlook.
For the fourth quarter, UiPath reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.26 that exceeded Visible Alpha forecasts. Revenue that rose 4.5% year-over-year to $423.6 million came up just short of expectations.
Separately, UiPath announced it had purchased U.K.-based Peak, which offers an AI-based platform to help optimize product inventory and pricing for businesses. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
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UiPath shares were down 15% at $10.05 in recent trading after earlier touching an all-time low $9.50. They have lost nearly 60% of their value over the past year.
American Eagle Warns Consumers are Cutting Spending
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American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) shares fell Thursday, a day after the maker of fashion clothes for teens and young adults warned that consumers are pulling back on their spending because of concerns about the future.
The company behind American Eagle and Aerie brands predicted full-year revenue will fall by a low-single-digit percent, while analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha were looking for a 3% increase. AEO explained that the guidance “reflects near-term headwinds in the consumer and macroeconomic operating environment.”
CEO Jay Schottenstein noted that the fiscal first quarter “is off to a slower start than expected, reflecting less robust demand and colder weather.” Schottenstein added that while the company anticipates improvement as the spring season gets under way, “we are also taking proactive steps to strengthen the top-line, manage inventory and reduce expenses.”
Schottenstein said on the earnings call with analysts that consumers “have the fear of the unknown,” according to a transcript provided by AlphaSense. He argued that it’s not just tariffs and inflation, but you “see the government cutting people off. They don’t know how that’s going to affect them. They see programs being cut. They don’t know how that’s going to affect them. … And when people don’t know what they don’t know, they get very conservative.”
In the fourth quarter, AEO reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.54, ahead of Visible Alpha forecasts, and revenue of $1.60 billion, in line with estimates.
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Shares of American Eagle Outfitters slipped 2.5% to their lowest level since the spring of 2023.
Adobe Stock Plunges on Disappointing Outlook
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Adobe (ADBE) shares fell sharply Thursday morning after the company reported record quarterly revenue above analysts’ expectation but delivered an outlook that disappointed Wall Street.
The Creative Cloud developer’s revenue climbed 10% year-over-year to a record $5.71 billion, above the analyst consensus from Visible Alpha. Adjusted earnings of $2.22 billion, or $5.08 per share, rose from $2.05 billion, or $4.48 per share, a year earlier and topped estimates.
Adobe’s Digital Media arm, which includes Creative Cloud subscriptions, saw revenue of $4.23 billion, up 11% year-over-year and exceeding analysts’ projections.
CEO Shantanu Narayen said Adobe is “well-positioned to capitalize on the acceleration of the creative economy driven by AI.” The results come ahead of the company’s Adobe Summit event next week, with analysts saying they’ll be watching for updates on generative AI metrics.
Looking ahead, Adobe maintained its full-year revenue outlook of $23.3 billion to $23.55 billion, and adjusted earnings per share of $20.20 to $20.50, both below analyst consensus projections at the midpoint.
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Adobe shares were down 11% in recent trading, leading S&P 500 decliners. The stock has lost nearly a third of its value over the past 12 months.
Intel Levels to Watch as Stock Soars After New CEO Named
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Intel (INTC) shares soared in premarket trading Thursday after the company named former board member and chip industry veteran Lip-Bu Tan as its new CEO.
Tan, who is the former CEO of chip software company Cadence Design Systems (CDNS), will succeed interim Co-CEOs David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus, who have shared the position since Pat Gelsinger retired in December. Tan will assume the roll next Tuesday.
Intel shares have lost more than half their value over the past 12 months, weighed down by the company’s inability to capture a greater share of the lucrative AI chip market and months of restructuring and deal rumors.
The stock was up 11% at around $23 in recent pre-market trading.
Since gapping sharply lower in early August last year, Intel shares have remained mostly rangebound, potentially carving out a market bottom. More recently, the stock staged a short-lived rally to the closely followed 200-day moving average before retracing towards its trading floor of the past seven months.
Investors should watch crucial overhead areas on Intel’s chart around $22, $26, and $30, while also monitoring a major support level near $19.
Read the full technical analysis piece here.
Major Stock Index Futures Lose Ground
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Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.3%.
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S&P 500 futures were off 0.4%.
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Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.5%.
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