Suppressed by Negotiation Doubt, US Major Stock Indices Close Lower

Iran's steadfastness on uranium enrichment has once again cast a shadow over the prospects of US-Iran talks, with the optimistic mood of the previous day dissipating rapidly. US stocks closed lower across all sectors, with crude oil prices experiencing sharp fluctuations before ending slightly higher. US Treasury yields have risen.

The three major US stock indices closed lower, with the Nasdaq, supported by the technology sector, being relatively resilient, falling by just 0.1%. Small-cap stocks are under significant pressure, with the Russell 2000 index leading the declines.

Today, all sectors closed lower, with the energy sector experiencing the largest drop and the consumer staples sector seeing a relatively smaller decrease.

Large technology stocks had mixed performances. Nvidia and Microsoft closed higher, while Broadcom and Alphabet saw slight declines. The strong earnings reports from Qualcomm and Fortinet, as well as the Analyst Day event from Datadog, have provided support for the technology sector.

The semiconductor sector underperformed the market today, while the software sector continued to show signs of recovery, potentially rising for a fourth consecutive week.

Goldman Sachs trading desk data shows that the high-beta momentum portfolio fell by 8% on the day, while the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ 100 both fell by less than 0.5%. This discrepancy ranks among the top single-day fluctuations over the past five years, and it has occurred five times so far in 2026.

According to UBS data, on Wednesday, net outflows from US retail market-making clients reached $228 million, with technology stocks, especially the semiconductor sector, being the primary direction of outflows. Corning, Texas Instruments, AMD, and Nvidia all recorded considerable outflow sizes.

It is also worth noting that the VIX index's decline is delinked from the stock market's flatline, and the market may be waiting for tomorrow's release of nonfarm payroll data.

The number of initial jobless claims in the United States slightly increased this week but remains low overall, indicating that the labor market's trend of layoffs remains moderate.

There has been a minor "hawkish" shift in the Federal Reserve expectations in the short-term interest rate market, with the probability of an interest rate hike before the end of the year rising to approximately 20%. However, the broader market consensus still considers this to be noise.

In the interest rate market, following the rebound in oil prices immediately after the opening of US stocks today, US Treasury yields also rose rapidly. The 10-year US Treasury yield increased by about 4.8 basis points.