US close: Stocks tank as oil prices surge, Treasury yields jump

23rd Jul 2026 22:04

(Sharecast News) - US stocks tumbled on Thursday as disappointing corporate updates and surging oil prices hammered sentiment, with a sell-off in the tech sector weighing heavily on markets.

The Dow and S&P 500 dropped 1.0% and 1.2%, respectively, finishing at their lowest levels in around four weeks, while the Nasdaq tanked 2.2% to its lowest finish since the start of May.

"It's been a tough day for markets on both sides of the Atlantic as the oil price surged higher, with the price of a barrel of Brent crude hopping back over the psychologically important $100 a barrel benchmark," said Danni Hewson, AJ Bell head of financial analysis.

"With nerves about the potential inflationary impact of the escalating conflict in the Middle East colliding with worries about soaring tech capex it's been tough to find the optimism."

Brent surged 7% to a two-month high of $100.69 a barrel, while WTI jumped 6.2% to $92.19, rising for the fifth straight session after Iranian-backed Houthi militants targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea and Donald Trump threatened once again to bomb Iranian infrastructure.

Also weighing on investors' minds was a rise in bond yields to their highest since early 2025. The yield on a 10-year Treasury note rose 3.3 basis points to 4.701%, while the yield on a two-year note - which best reflects Federal Reserve rate expectations - gained 5.8bp to 4.36%.

"The US 2-year Treasury yield [...] climbed to 4.30%, its highest level since February 2025, as investors increasingly bet that the Fed will have to raise rates at upcoming meetings to preserve price stability," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote.

Corporate updates disappoint

Tech earnings were firmly in focus after Alphabet, IBM and Tesla reported overnight.

Google parent company Alphabet dropped 7% despite posting stronger‑than‑expected Q2 revenues, driven by an 82% surge in cloud revenue, although adjusted earnings came in just shy of expectations while capex guidance was lifted by $15bn.

Tesla tanked 15% after delivering weaker‑than‑expected Q2 earnings as margins declined due to falling selling prices and weaker regulatory credit revenue. Opex also surged 47% year-on-year as the company stepped up spending on AI and R&D.

IBM finished flat after lowering its 2026 outlook and posting softer quarterly profits. The company now projects full-year constant currency revenue growth of just 4-5% this year.

American Airlines shares fell sharply after the carrier cut its full-year earnings outlook, overshadowing record second-quarter revenue and better-than-expected adjusted earnings.

In other news, T‑Mobile and Comcast both disappointed with their quarterly earnings, while Lockheed Martin rose after comfortably beating forecasts.

Economic data

On the macro front, the Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims eased by 22,000 to 187,000 in the week to 18 July, the lowest claim count in almost 60 years and well below expectations of an increase to 212,000. Continuing claims fell by 2,000 to 1.79m on the previous week following an aggressive downward revision, while the four-week moving average came in at 207,500, a decrease of 7,250 a week-on-week. Elsewhere, the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ended 11 July, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate.

Meanwhile the Chicago Federal Reserve's national activity index edged up in June, rising to -0.02 from -0.19 in May, signalling a modest improvement in US economic momentum. Production‑related indicators contributed -0.05, slightly weaker than the prior month, while employment remained unchanged at -0.04. Sales, orders and inventories improved to +0.01 from -0.09, and personal consumption and housing strengthened to +0.05 from -0.03. The three‑month moving average also ticked higher, increasing to -0.05 from -0.10.

Dow Jones - Risers

Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $130.48 2.36%

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $259.27 1.42%

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $376.37 1.15%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $371.50 1.08%

Chevron Corp. (CVX) $194.42 0.75%

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $894.54 0.59%

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $349.90 0.49%

International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $206.65 0.43%

Boeing Co. (BA) $209.23 0.28%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $156.93 -3.72%

Intel Corp. (INTC) $100.23 -3.35%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $381.58 -3.28%

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $92.83 -3.17%

Nike Inc. (NKE) $40.99 -2.89%

American Express Co. (AXP) $340.84 -2.27%

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $1,074.72 -2.14%

Home Depot Inc. (HD) $324.71 -2.03%

Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $423.56 -1.80%

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $321.66 -1.65%

S&P 500 - Risers

Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) $568.59 10.54%

Allegion (ALLE) $154.57 10.45%

United Rentals Inc. (URI) $1,139.71 10.11%

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO) $572.32 8.71%

Quest Diagnostics (DGX) $227.90 8.61%

Danaher Corp. (DHR) $192.50 7.46%

RTX Corporation (RTX) $209.16 7.33%

Sl Green Realty Corp. (SLG) $53.61 6.96%

CSX Corp. (CSX) $52.81 5.44%

Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) $348.55 5.32%

S&P 500 - Fallers

American Airlines Group (AAL) $13.56 -10.05%

Rollins Inc. (ROL) $39.44 -9.27%

Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $21.92 -8.86%

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

Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $317.69 -8.56%

Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $318.34 -8.22%

Dover Corp. (DOV) $197.80 -7.80%

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $12.72 -7.68%

Under Armour Inc. Class A (UAA) $6.74 -7.16%

Globe Life Inc. (GL) $171.08 -7.02%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

CSX Corp. (CSX) $52.81 5.44%

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $990.21 4.04%

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $558.30 3.18%

Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $196.86 2.97%

Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $913.36 2.84%

KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $218.73 2.83%

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $96.77 2.83%

PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $130.75 2.50%

Fastenal Co. (FAST) $46.15 2.07%

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $392.47 1.99%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Tesla Inc (TSLA) $319.69 -15.47%

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

T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $170.42 -11.31%

American Airlines Group (AAL) $13.56 -10.05%

Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $21.92 -8.86%

Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $317.69 -8.56%

Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $318.34 -8.22%

DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $12.72 -7.68%

Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $127.87 -6.81%

Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $117.65 -6.25%