US Stock Market today: Wall Street retreats as tech valuation worries and trade tensions dampen sentiment

The key stock indices on Wall Street opened in the red on Thursday, with sentiment affected by the ongoing flow of corporate earnings reports, alongside lingering concerns over US tariffs, inflated tech valuations, and inconsistent economic figures.

The ongoing US government shutdown has resulted in another week of a critical data blackout, severely limiting the visibility of the nation's economic health for policymakers, businesses, and investors. The weekly release tracking the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits has been postponed for consecutive weeks, removing a vital, timely barometer of the pace of layoffs and overall labor market movement.

As of 12:34 PM Eastern Time, the S&P 500 dropped 1.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.9%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 1.8%.

As of 10:25 AM Eastern Time. The S&P 500 slipped 0.4%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.7%.

At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 55.9 points, or 0.12%, to 47,255.12. The S&P 500 fell 8.7 points, or 0.13%, to 6,787.59​, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 38.5 points, or 0.16%, to 23,461.289.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.09% from 4.16% late on Wednesday. The yield on the 2-year Treasury fell to 3.57% from 3.63%.

Key Stock Movers

Datadog shares jumped 22.4% after the software company’s quarterly earnings beat Wall Street forecasts.

Rockwell Automation stock gained 5.7% after strong quarterly results.

DoorDash shares slumped 16% after the delivery firm reported third quarter profit below Wall Street expectations.

Moderna stock gained 3.5% after the vaccine maker posted a smaller-than-expected third quarter loss.

Elf Beauty shares tanked 32% after the cosmetics maker forecast annual sales and profit below expectations.

Bullion Market

Gold prices climbed on Thursday, holding steady near $4,000 per ounce. This increase was buoyed by a feebler US dollar and renewed demand for a safe haven, owing to worries over a protracted US government shutdown and lingering doubt concerning the legality of Trump tariffs.

Spot gold gained 0.4% to reach $3,998.65 per ounce by 09:43 ET (1207 GMT). US gold futures for December delivery rose 0.3% to $4,005.40 per ounce.

Among other metals, spot silver advanced 0.4% to $48.24 per ounce. Conversely, platinum dipped 0.2% to $1,568.26, and palladium declined 1.3% to $1,401.14.

Crude Oil

Oil prices were largely unchanged on Thursday, as some concerns over a potential oversupply eased, with sanctions imposed on Russian companies starting to take effect.

Brent crude futures edged up 3 cents, or 0.05%, to $63.55 a barrel by 1415 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures saw a minor gain of 2 cents, or 0.03%, to $59.62.

The recent sanctions, placed on Russia's biggest oil companies two weeks ago, are beginning to spark certain worries about supply disruptions, despite rising output figures from OPEC and its allies.