<figure id="attachment_3286284" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3286284" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3286284" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/6128e0f3-stock-markets-nyse-2-epa-20_02_26.webp" alt="" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3286284" class="wp-caption-text">The New York Stock Exchange bell is seen from the trading floor. The United States stocks dipped but pared earlier losses, while oil prices hit a six-month high on Iran tensions (EPA Images pic)</figcaption></figure>
NEW YORK: US stocks moved modestly lower on Thursday following mixed economic data and Walmart&#8217;s disappointing coming-year forecast, while signs of a sturdy labor market helped the dollar extend its upward climb.
All three major US stock indexes followed their European counterparts slightly lower, setting course to snap their three-session winning streaks, while mounting concerns over oil supply arising from a potential US-Iran conflict helped bolster crude prices.
&#8220;Today (investors are) weighing some of the economic data and what Walmart’s earnings are saying in terms of the consumer,&#8221; says Chuck Carlson, CEO at Horizon Investment Services in Hammond, Indiana.
&#8220;I think investors are trying to grapple with trying to make a decision whether this rotation trade has legs or if it’s starting to run its course,&#8221; Carlson added, referring to the transition away from mega-cap tech-related momentum stocks.
A spate of economic data showed a dip in jobless claims and US trade data, which recorded its widest goods deficit on record as imports rebounded despite President Donald Trump&#8217;s tariffs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 341.92 points, or 0.69%, to 49,320.74, the S&amp;P 500 fell 32.23 points, or 0.47%, to 6,848.95 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 118.06 points, or 0.52%, to 22,635.31.
European shares pulled back from Wednesday&#8217;s record closing high as investors parsed a mixed bag of corporate earnings, particularly Airbus and iron ore producer Rio Tinto.
MSCI&#8217;s gauge of stocks across the globe fell 3.95 points, or 0.38%, to 1,045.74.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.53%, while Europe&#8217;s broad FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 13.81 points, or 0.55%.
Emerging market stocks fell 0.28 points, or 0.02%, to 1,560.60. MSCI&#8217;s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed higher by 0.28%, to 799.85, while Japan&#8217;s Nikkei rose 323.99 points, or 0.57%, to 57,467.83.
Crude prices continued to rise, reaching a six-month high due to supply concerns arising from the growing possibility of a potential military conflict between the United States and Iran.
&#8220;It’s the elephant in the room, what&#8217;s going on in the Middle East,&#8221; Carlson said. &#8220;It certainly has ramifications for commodities, specifically oil and also gold.&#8221;
US crude CLc1 rose 1.90% to settle at US$66.43 per barrel, while Brent LCOc1 settled at US$71.66 per barrel, up 1.86% on the day.
The dollar edged higher as solid jobless claims data and minutes from the US Federal Reserve appeared to show a divide among policymakers regarding the need to cut interest rates in the near term.
&#8220;The jobs market is okay, but there&#8217;s still a bit of job insecurity that&#8217;s out there,&#8221; Carlson added. &#8220;It gives the Fed a pause, trying to evaluate not just the numbers, but how job insecurity is affecting the rest of the economy.&#8221;
The dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, rose 0.18% to 97.88, with the euro down 0.12% at US$1.1768.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened 0.08% to 154.95.
In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin gained 0.83% to US$66,877.47. Ethereum declined 0.28% to US$1,936.35.
US Treasury yields were mixed following Treasury Department&#8217;s US$9 billion auction of 30-year debt.
The yield on benchmark US 10-year notes fell 1 basis point to 4.071%, from 4.081% late on Wednesday.
The 30-year bond yield fell 0.4 basis points to 4.703% from 4.707% late on Wednesday.
The 2-year note yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations for the Federal Reserve, rose 0.4 basis points to 3.464%, from 3.46% late on Wednesday.
Gold prices pared earlier gains and were last essentially unchanged as investors weighed mounting US-Iran tensions against data hinting at labor market stability.
Spot gold rose 0.17% to US$4,987.63 an ounce. US gold futures GCc1 fell 0.04% to US$4,984.50 an ounce.

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