Wall Street edges lower as crude oil rises on reports that Iran will retain enriched uranium

Wall Street's key stock indices ticked downward on Thursday as crude oil prices spiked following news report that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei directed the nation's uranium to remain within the country, dampening expectations for a breakthrough in diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran.

As of 10:15 a.m. Eastern Time, the S&P 500 fell 0.4%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.5% lower.

At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 25.5 points, or 0.05%, to 49,983.8. The S&P 500 fell 22.2 points, or 0.30%, to 7,410.78​, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 126.7 points, or 0.48%, to 26,143.616.

Market participants grew increasingly anxious that an extended blockage of the strategic Strait of Hormuz might exacerbate global energy supply shocks and drive up inflationary pressures. Although Tehran indicated that the newest proposal from Washington had narrowed some differences between the two nations, media reports regarding Iran's decision to retain its uranium stockpiles were widely interpreted as a major obstacle to a potential diplomatic resolution.

Consequently, Brent crude oil surged 3.4% to reach $108.54 per barrel, erasing the majority of its weekly declines. Energy markets have experienced intense volatility amid ongoing uncertainty over how long the conflict with Iran will keep the crucial Strait of Hormuz closed, which continues to block oil tankers from exiting the Persian Gulf to distribute crude worldwide.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.61% from 4.57% late on Wednesday.

Key Stock Movers

Walmart https://www.livemint.com/money/personal-finance/gold-turned-rs-1-lakh-into-rs-15-lakhs-in-20-years-heres-how-equities-real-estate-and-debt-compare-11779339838408.htmlshares tumbled 5.9% on the heels of its quarterly earnings release. The retail giant issued weaker-than-anticipated profit guidance for the upcoming periods.

Nvidia shares fell0.6% despite chip giant posted record quarterly revenue of $81.6 billion, blowing past Wall Street forecasts.

IBM stock rose 5.6% as the Trump administration will fund some quantum-computing companies, including a new IBM venture, in exchange for stakes in some of them.

Shares of GlobalFoundries climbed 13%, D-Wave Quantum jumped 24.8%, Rigetti Computing gained 24.4% and Infleqtion surged 39.8%.

Intuit stock slumped 20.5% after the software maker lowered its annual revenue forecast for its tax-filing software.

Ralph Lauren stock jumped 10.5% after the firm reported stronger quarterly profit and revenue than analysts expected.

Bullion

Gold prices dropped on Thursday as climbing oil prices heightened inflation worries.

As of 10:17 a.m. ET (1417 GMT), spot gold was down 1% at $4,500.07 per ounce. US gold futures for June delivery lost 0.7% at $4,502.90.

Among other metals, spot silver was down 1.1% at $74.98 per ounce, platinum lost 1.4% to $1,923.27 and palladium fell 1.3% to $1,352.38.

"Essentially, it's all still about negotiation between Iran and the US and in that context, we have seen a bit of uncertainty if a deal can be reached or not, with that, oil prices are increasingly pressuring gold," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.