Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq slide as Wall Street weighs prospects for Iran truce

Mortgage-backed securities giant Fannie Mae (FNMA) is set to soon begin accepting cryptocurrency-backed mortgages, according to an announcement on Thursday from mortgage originator Better Home & Finance (BETR) and the crypto exchange Coinbase Global (COIN).

Shares in Better Home surged as much as 12% following the announcement, while Coinbase traded down by roughly 1.1%. Fannie Mae traded slid by roughly 4.6% in the over-the-counter market, according to Yahoo Finance data.

A new product launched by the two companies will allow individuals to originate mortgages with Better Home that conform to Fannie Mae standards while using bitcoin (BTC-USD) or USD Coin (USDC-USD) as collateral for the loan, the companies said in a press release on Thursday.

The launch of the “token-backed mortgage product marks the first time an AI-native mortgage lender has used secured digital asset loans and the platform of a major crypto exchange to create a direct pathway from digital wealth to homeownership,” Better said.

The products “empower Americans who own digital assets but lack sufficient downpayment funds, or prefer to keep downpayment funds liquid, to secure a home loan by pledging their tokenized assets as collateral,” the company said.

While the offering is not the first cryptocurrency mortgage product to reach the market, the Wall Street Journal reported, the involvement of Fannie Mae brings crypto products more into the mainstream financial system, as Fannie is backed by the federal government and managed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

A survey by Redfin in 2025 found that more than 10% of millennial and Gen Z homebuyers sold crypto holdings to help fund their down payments, the Journal reported.

Shares in the pharmaceutical company Wave Life Sciences (WVE) fell nearly 60% after the opening bell on Thursday on disappointing results that showed higher doses of its signature weight-loss drug were less effective than expected.

The drop in the company’s share price was its largest on record, according to Bloomberg.

Wave, which produces the weight-loss drug WVE-007, positions itself as a competitor to the pharmaceutical giants Novo Nordisk (NVO) and Eli Lilly (LLY). Novo Nordisk makes Ozempic and Wegovy, while Eli Lilly produces Zepbound — all highly popular GLP-1 weight-loss drugs.

Wave’s WVE-007 is intended to achieve the same weight-loss results as the drugs made by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, but with far less frequent treatments and without the GLP-1 side effect of muscle loss alongside fat loss.

Previous studies of WVE-007 showed that a 240-milligram dose reduced total fat mass by 5% without loss of lean mass. Test results released by Wave on Thursday, however, showed that a larger 400 milligram dose cut total fat mass by less than 1% and less than a 0.2% loss in lean mass, performing below analyst expectations for the higher dosage.

The company partially attributed the difference to the fact that the 400 milligram cohort “had a leaner baseline body composition, with lower BMI and more participants … with healthy levels of visceral fat,” which “emphasize the impact of baseline body composition on therapeutic effect and support expectations that evaluating individuals with higher BMI and visceral fat at baseline will lead to greater improvements in body composition and weight loss,” the company said.

US claims for unemployment benefits rose slightly in a sign that the labor market continues to hold steady.

Initial jobless claims increased by 5,000 to 210,000 for the week ending March 21, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That was in line with economists’ expectations for 210,000 initial claims.

Continuing claims, which track the unemployed population still seeking work, decreased to 1.82 million from a revised level of 1.85 million the week before. That was the lowest level for continuing claims since May 25, 2024, the Labor Department said.

The data suggested little change to softened labor conditions, which have been marked by low job gains but not widespread layoffs in recent months.

The US stock market turned red on Thursday as uncertainty surrounding the war in Iran continued to drive investor fears.

The S&P 500 (^GSPC) slid by roughly 0.8%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell a slimmer 0.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) moved roughly 1% lower.

The war in Iran continues to drive markets, as each update from President Trump and subsequent responses from the Iranian leadership swing investor sentiment. Brent crude futures (BZ=F) held above $100 as the mixed signals dampened earlier hopes for an imminent easing in hostilities. West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) crude moved above $94 before slightly pulling back.

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics published on Thursday morning showed 210,000 initial jobless claims, in line with expectations and slightly above last week’s 205,000 initial claims.

JetBlue’s (JBLU) stock fell as much as 4% in premarket trading on Thursday after a 13% gain the day before.

The airline is reportedly considering a sale and has asked advisers to evaluate how an acquisition by United Airlines (UAL), Alaska Airlines (AAL), or Southwest Airlines (LUV) would go over with regulators in Washington, Semafor reported on Wednesday. Those three airlines were down about 2% on Thursday.

JetBlue, considered the sixth-largest airline in the US, has been working to turn around its business after its planned merger with Spirit Airlines fell through in 2024 when regulators blocked it on antitrust grounds.

The airline has struggled with profitability as more cost-conscious travelers fly Frontier (ULCC) or Spirit Airlines, while Delta’s (DAL) and United’s premium offerings have drawn travelers at the higher end of the income scale.

Olaplex (OLPX) stock soared 50% before the bell on Thursday, following the news that German company Henkel (HEN3.DE) will acquire the hair-care brand for around $1.4 billion.

SSR Mining (SSRM) and Newmont (NEM) stocks fell roughly around 3% during premarket hours today. Mining stocks have suffered some volatility over recent weeks due to the war in Iran and the fluctuations in the price of gold (GC=F), which was down 2% today.

AppLovin (APP) stock fell 7% before the bell on Thursday. So far this year, the mobile company’s shares have risen over 20%.

A loss for (META) and Google’s YouTube (GOOG, GOOGL) in a high-profile trial over harms to children on their social media platforms may bring repercussions beyond the $6 million damages awarded.

From Bloomberg:

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