US open: Dow jumps, Nasdaq slips as traders track US-Iran flare‑up

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street trading got off to a mixed start on Thursday as market participants remained locked in on Middle East developments.

As of 1505 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.51% at 51,452.65, while the S&P 500 shed 0.07% to 7,548.49 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 0.73% weaker at 26,658.37.

The Dow opened 765.58 points higher on Thursday, more than reversing losses recorded in the previous session as the blue-chip index snapped a nine-day winning streak amid a flare up in tensions between the US and Iran.

Oil prices traded lower early on Thursday, with West Texas Intermediate down 3.29% at $92.86 a barrel and Brent crude 2.73% softer at $95.14 a barrel, after pushing higher in the previous session as hostilities between the US and Iran intensified. Yesterday's moves came after Tehran struck Kuwait International Airport, following a US Central Command statement a day earlier that American forces had intercepted multiple Iranian ballistic missiles and drones and carried out what it described as "selfdefence" strikes on Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf.

In the corporate space, chipmaker Broadcom tumbled in afterhours trading on Wednesday after it delivered a mixed set of quarterly numbers and issued an AI sales outlook that fell short of market hopes. Broadcom posted revenue of $22.19bn for the quarter, a touch ahead of the $22.13bn expected, while earnings per share came in at $2.44 against forecasts of $2.39. However, market participants had been looking for a stronger topline beat given the scale of recent AIrelated demand, leaving some investors underwhelmed by the modest outperformance.

Lululemon Athletica will report its latest earnings after the close.

On the macro front, US employers announced 97,006 job cuts in May, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, up from 83,387 in April for the highest monthly total since January. It also marked the third consecutive monthly increase and the largest May figure since 2020, with artificial intelligence cited as the leading cause of layoffs for a third straight month. The tech sector accounted for 38,242 cuts, its biggest monthly tally since August 2024, while transportation cut 6,909 jobs, services made 6,288 layoffs, and fintech shed 5,731 jobs.

Elsewhere, Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at an accelerated clip in the week ended 30 May, according to the Department of Labor, hitting the highest initial claim count since February. Initial jobless claims rose by by 13,000 to 225,000, well ahead of market expectations for a much smaller 1,000 increase to 213,000. Elsewhere, continuing claims slipped by 8,000 to 1.77m, while the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, increased by 6,500 to 214,750. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was unchanged at 1.2%.

Finally, US worker productivity slowed more sharply than first reported in Q1, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, though the broader trend remained firm. Nonfarm business productivity rose at an annualised clip of 0.3%, down from the initial estimate of 0.8% and the weakest reading since early 2025. The measure, which tracks hourly output per worker, still sits on a solid upward trend, with economists expecting to see further gains as companies roll out AI tools across a wider range of roles. Unit labor costs, on the other hand, increased at a 1.8% rate last quarter - a downward revision from the 2.3% pace reported in May.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $398.78 5.78%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $345.59 5.10%

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $119.08 3.76%

American Express Co. (AXP) $311.24 3.40%

Visa Inc. (V) $320.85 2.44%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $1,062.85 2.10%

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $101.10 1.91%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $306.55 1.89%

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $296.27 1.74%

Boeing Co. (BA) $214.54 1.63%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $109.99 -4.98%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $430.79 -1.31%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $914.51 -1.26%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $311.69 -1.26%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $125.74 -0.91%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $189.36 -0.13%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $35.35 0.10%

S&P 500 - Risers

Incyte Corp. (INCY) $99.66 7.26%

Macy's Inc. (M) $23.13 6.06%

Biogen Inc (BIIB) $198.38 6.05%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $398.78 5.78%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $443.07 5.40%

Brown Forman Corp. Class B (BF.B) $25.64 5.29%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $345.59 5.25%

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $19.11 5.12%

Robert Half Inc. (RHI) $31.06 5.07%

Humana Inc. (HUM) $343.95 5.01%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Apartment Investment & Management Co. (AIV) $3.02 -29.56%

PVH Corp. (PVH) $72.62 -27.58%

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $406.51 -16.56%

Arista Networks Inc. (ANET) $158.88 -9.26%

Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $32.56 -8.62%

Corning Inc. (GLW) $188.46 -6.13%

Ipg Photonics Corp. (IPGP) $117.39 -5.88%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $997.45 -5.21%

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) $508.63 -5.18%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $109.99 -4.98%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Incyte Corp. (INCY) $99.66 7.26%

Biogen Inc (BIIB) $198.38 6.05%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) $443.07 5.40%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $345.59 5.25%

Biomarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BMRN) $55.87 4.90%

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $170.62 4.68%

Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $418.95 4.54%

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (REGN) $627.87 4.25%

Ross Stores Inc. (ROST) $233.29 4.22%

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $182.97 3.85%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $406.51 -16.32%

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.34 -13.49%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $997.45 -5.96%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $109.99 -4.98%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $329.85 -3.89%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $487.07 -3.66%

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $131.52 -3.13%

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $9.65 -3.06%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $577.93 -2.97%

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $213.27 -2.92%