Wall Street mixed, Broadcom drags tech shares lower

US stock indexes traded mixed on Thursday, with technology shares coming under pressure after semiconductor giant Broadcom reported earnings and issued guidance that fell short of analysts expectations.

As of 10:15 a.m. Eastern Time, the S&P 500 slipped 0.1%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.4%, and the Nasdaq Composite was 0.7% lower.

At the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 299.0 points, or 0.59%, to 50,986.1. The S&P 500 fell 37.1 points, or 0.49%, to 7,516.54​, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 274.7 points, or 1.02%, to 26,579.297.

Shares of Broadcom plunged 14.4% shortly after the opening bell, weighing heavily on the broader technology sector.

Broadcom's earnings "failed to live up to the sky-high expectations embedded in the stock price," said Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.com.

"The disparate moves reflect a rotation away from the leading tech stocks and into the lower-beta, more traditional blue-chip shares," O'Hare added.

The weakness extended across the semiconductor industry, with Arm Holdings declining 6.1% and Micron Technology dropping 6.3% as investors reassessed growth prospects following Broadcom's results.

Toro stock rose 1.4% after the seller of mowers and other equipment reported better than expected quarterly profit and revenue.

CrowdStrike Holdings shares dropped 7.9% despite the cybersecurity company posting quarterly profit and revenue above analysts’ expectations.

PVH Corp. shares tumbled 24.7% even though the company behind the Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger brands beat Wall Street’s first quarter sales and profit targets.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.45% from 4.49% late on Wednesday.

Bullion

Gold prices advanced on Thursday as crude oil prices declined amid growing optimism that the conflict involving Iran could move toward a resolution. The drop in oil prices weighed on the US dollar and pushed Treasury yields lower, providing support to the precious metal.

As of 9:05 a.m. EDT (1305 GMT), spot gold was up 1.7% at $4,505.35 per ounce. US gold futures for August delivery gained 1.5% to $4,532.80.

Among other metals, spot silver rose 3.1% to $74.96 per ounce, platinum gained 1.9% to $1,895.29, and palladium added 1.6% to $1,322.01.

Reports of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon have pressured the US dollar and bond yields, helping gold hold just above the important 200-day moving average, independent metals trader Tai Wong said.

"Record highs for gold this year seem increasingly unlikely unless we get a clean, lasting ceasefire with Iran that opens Hormuz, allowing energy prices to drop and markets to stop worrying about potentially higher rates," Wong said.

Crude Oil

Crude oil prices retreated on Thursday as traders tracked conflicting events in the Middle East war.

Brent North Sea Crude slumped 2.6% at $95.28 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate lost 3.1% at $93.06 a barrel.

Iran said there had been no recent progress in talks with the US over an interim peace deal, while fighting persisted in Lebanon despite Washington’s declaration of a ceasefire between Israel and the country.