Stock market today: Dow falls, S&P 500 and Nasdaq shake of early losses on Strait of Hormuz hopes

SpaceX might be one of the most valuable public companies in the world as soon as it hits the public market.

Bloomberg reported Thursday the company is targeting a valuation of $2 trillion in its upcoming IPO, an increase from the previously reported target on $1.75 billion.

On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported SpaceX had filed confidentially for an IPO, targeting a start to public trading within 2026.

While public information remains slim, SpaceX leadership has begun floating the $2 trillion figure to potential investors, according to Bloomberg.

SpaceX’s acquisition of Musk’s xAI valued the combined entity at $1.25 trillion, making a $2 trillion target a marked step-up in valuation.

If SpaceX were to reach such a valuation, the company would instantly vault into the ranks of the top 10 largest companies in the world, currently composed entirely of the largest names in tech and the chips and semiconductors industries, falling only behind five members of the so-called “Magnificent 7” stocks.

US stocks pared losses on Thursday as traders headed into a long weekend amid uncertainty over when the war with Iran will end.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 0.1%, shaking off early losses of more than 1%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose 0.1%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 0.1%.

Meanwhile, oil hovered near $110 per barrel amid reports that Iran was drafting a protocol with Oman to manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

“Traders are pricing in the US to leave the Middle East before the end of April,” Dennis Kissler, senior vice president at BOK Financial, told Yahoo Finance.

Kissler added that the only way for oil prices to come down quickly would be a swift resolution that results in Iran reopening the strait.

“If that would occur, we could see front months of crude drop $20 per barrel very quickly, just on long liquidation,” he added.

Thursday marks the final trading session of the holiday-shortened week ahead of the Good Friday closure. The closely watched March jobs report is due Friday.

Stocks are trying to hang onto a strong two-day rebound, even after President Trump’s speech last night knocked the majors down a peg.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC), and S&P 500 (^GSPC) are now only slightly lower after posting their biggest two-day jump in about ten months.

The problem — and it’s still the key technical issue here — is that the S&P 500 is staring up at its 200-day moving average, which looms overhead near 6650.

When I spoke with Carson Group’s Ryan Detrick on Wednesday, he made clear that level still matters. “We need to get back above that,” he said, adding that “bad stuff happens below the 200 day.”

Still, Detrick says a few tailwinds remain in place:

This rebound has held up better than many might have expected. But the key test is still just overhead.

Airline stocks dropon Thursday, extending year-to-date losses, as soaring oil prices sparked concerns about shrinking profits.

Shares of US majors American Airlines (AAL) and United Airlines (UAL) dropped more than 3%, while Delta Air Lines (DAL) fell nearly 2%. Shares of regional carriers Alaska Air Group (ALK) and Southwest (LUV) also declined.

Jet fuel prices have surged more than 100% over the past month as the Middle East conflict disrupted energy supplies. With US crude futures (CL=F) and Brent (BZ=F) above $105 per barrel, jet fuel has experienced an outsized price increase.

“Asian refiners have had to cut utilization rates due to a lack of crude oil, further exacerbating the supply situation,” Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates, told Yahoo Finance on Thursday.

“To top it off, refined product exports have been restricted by China, Korea, Thailand, and Pakistan,” he added.

Read more here.

Gold prices (GC=F) dropped more than 2% on Thursday as oil surged above $105 and traders assessed the prospect of higher oil prices and their impact on inflation.

Gold futures dropped to $4,650, snapping a three-day win streak after President Trump vowed to “hit Iran hard” in a national address on Wednesday that failed to provide a certain end to the US-Israeli war in Iran.

Strategists point to expectations of higher-for-longer interest rates against a backdrop of rising inflation, with oil prices remaining elevated. The US dollar index also rose, putting pressure on the precious metal.

Spot gold recently posted its worst month since Oct 2008, while futures logged their worst monthly performance since 2013.

Silver prices (SI=F) also sank 4% to hover near $72 per ounce, extending year-to-date losses to 6%.

Mortgage rates were higher for the fifth week in a row this week as home loan applications fell by more than 10% again.

My colleague Hal Bundrick reports:

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Ford (F) shares shed roughly 1.2% on Thursday after the company announced first quarter sales figures down roughly 9% year over year. Sales of the company’s F-series trucks, the US’s bestselling car, dropped 16%.

Our Pras Subramanian reports:

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Large-cap tech (XLK) was the second-worst-performing sector for most of the morning, until the Hormuz headlines flashed.

It’s now building on gains for the day.

Peering under the hood, software (IGV) is also holding gains, while semiconductors (SOXX) are still paring losses.

XLK is now up more than 6% over the last three days — its best three-day rally since May of last year.

Blue Owl stock (OWL) stock declined 1.3% in late morning trading after the private credit manager said it saw a wave of withdrawal requests for two of its non-traded funds.

Yahoo Finance’s David Hollerith reports:

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Stocks had been clawing back some of the steep overnight losses since the open, when the Dow (^DJI), Nasdaq (^IXIC), and S&P 500 (^GSPC) suddenly surged and turned green — if only briefly in some cases.

The spark looks geopolitical.

A Bloomberg report says Iran is working with Oman on a Hormuz traffic protocol, knocking oil lower and giving stocks an opening to rip off the lows.

The thinking is that if the strait looks even a little less chaotic, investors can start peeling back some of the worst-case pricing tied to energy shock and war uncertainty.

WTI and Brent crude oil (CL=F, BZ=F) sold off on the news.

Bed Bath & Beyond is scooping up The Container Store, Elfa, and Closet Works in a $150 million deal. Shares of the home essentials retailer dropped 6% on the news.

In a letter to shareholders, CEO Marcus Lemonis laid out why he views the acquisition of the beleaguered home brands as a “critical step” for the company.

“What I saw over time was a business with strong brand equity, a desirable physical footprint, and, most importantly, a group of teammates who care deeply about the customer,” Lemonis said about Container Store. “This transaction will fill critical gaps in both our retail and home services strategy. As we build our company platform, any additional assets including talent must serve a clear purpose to our company’s long-term strategy.”

Lemonis said the company plans to aggressively pursue further acquisitions as it seeks to rebuild its home essentials empire. Both Bed Bath & Beyond and The Container Store emerged from bankruptcy over the past three years.

“We are actively working on additional acquisitions across each of our pillars and look forward to providing updates as those opportunities progress,” Lemonis said.

The US stock market sank at the opening bell on Thursday after President Trump’s Wednesday night address failed to soothe investor concerns over the war in the Middle East.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 1.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) dropped 1.4%, sliding more than 600 points. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) sank by a deeper 1.7%.

Following Trump’s address, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) rose 13% to trade above $113 a barrel, while Brent (BZ=F) jumped 8% to also trade above $109, inverting WTI’s traditional discount to Brent.

Thursday marks the final trading session of the holiday-shortened week ahead of the Good Friday closure. Jobless claims data out at 8:30 a.m. ET showed that initial claims unexpectedly dropped to 202,000 for the week.

US claims for unemployment benefits fell below the previous week’s reading, undershooting expectations in a bullish sign for an otherwise cool labor market.

Initial jobless claims fell by 9,000 to 202,000 for the week ending March 28, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists have been expecting 212,000 claims,

Continuing claims, which track the unemployed population still seeking work, rose to 1.84 million for the week ending March 21 from a revised level of 1.82 million the week before.

Oil prices surged through Wednesday night and into Thursday morning as markets took a bullish signal on continued disruption to global energy flows after President Trump’s speech on Wednesday.

Futures on Brent crude (BZ=F), the international pricing benchmark, rose by roughly 7.8% to cross $109 per barrel. Those on the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude (CL=F) rallied by an even stronger 11% to cross $111.

WTI’s rally above $110 marks the second time since the war began that the US benchmark has crossed the key level and the second time the benchmark’s discount against Brent has inverted.

In comments during his address to the American people Wednesday night, President Trump did not set a hard timeline for US involvement in the conflict that has wracked the global oil market, saying only that the US military would be sending Iran “back to the stone ages.” The president also said that, because he views the US as independent of the Strait of Hormuz, other countries should “take it, protect it, use it for yourselves.”

Oil immediately began rallying on the president’s comments, reversing from earlier losses within minutes.

Yahoo Finance’s Emma Ockerman reports:

Read more here.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell back toward its lows of this year, tempering optimism of a comeback after the crypto snapped its monthly losing streak.

The cryptocurrency fell 3% to $66,172 on Thursday morning as part of a wider flight from risk assets following a speech from President Trump on the war in Iran.

In his address, Trump didn’t provide an end date to the war in Iran, renewing fears of further market disruptions from the ongoing conflict.

“Stock and commodity markets continue to whipsaw according to Trump’s latest comments on geopolitical developments,” Caroline Mauron, co-founder of Orbit Markets, told Bloomberg. “Bitcoin is largely following stocks’ direction, though in the past few weeks it has showed reduced sensitivity to both good and bad news.”

Read more here.

You haven’t missed all the gains to come in oil stocks in the aftermath of Operation Epic Fury, writes Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi. One analyst says that oil stocks continue to make a lot of sense.

Read more here.

Here’s a rundown on how the different assets are reacting to the latest news on the Iran war.

Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell almost 3% and hovered just above $66,000. Ethereum (ETH-USD) also fell by 4% and sat around $2,000 as of 5:44 am ET following the news on Trump’s continued military advancement in Iran.

Metals: Gold (GC=F) futures slumped over 3%. Copper (HG=F) also fell, alongside aluminum (ALI=F), which had reached its highest close in four years on Wednesday was lower today.

Tech stocks, Nvidia (NVDA), Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), Micron (MU), Tesla (TSLA) and Intel (INTC) all fell between 2-3% during premarket hours on Thursday after President Trump announced strikes on Iran would continue, causing US equities to fall, with Nasdaq 100 futures sinking 1.4%.

Energy stocks Devon Energy (DVN), Antero Resources Corp. (AR), Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY), and Permian Resources (PR) all rose 3% before the bell on Thursday, following President Trump’s announcement on Thursday that the US will continue to strike Iran, leading to a pullback in US equities and a rise in Brent crude (BZ=F) and crude (CL=F) oil prices.

CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) stock rose 5% during premarket hours on Thursday. The American manufacturer and distributor of agricultural fertilisers has been affected by the war in Iran, as hopes dim that hostilities will end following Trump’s address to the nation on Wednesday, and supply concerns about fertiliser from the Persian Gulf persist.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) fell on Thursday following President Trump’s address to the nation, where he said there would be harder strikes against Iran in the coming weeks.

Bloomberg News report:

Read more here.