slides hit Wall Street with little warning on Thursday. After a record-setting stretch, the mood shifted as US-Iran peace talks stalled, oil climbed for a fourth day, and software shares were hit hard by mixed quarterly results from ServiceNow and IBM.
Why did stocks pull back?
The major averages moved lower as investors weighed two pressures at once: renewed Iran war concerns and a sharp selloff in software. The S&P 500 slipped after a record day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 0. 4% to 0. 5%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped between 0. 9% and more than 1% during the session.
The move was not broad panic, but it was enough to end the momentum that had carried the market to fresh highs. In this setting, slides became less a single-day headline and more a reminder of how fast sentiment can change when geopolitics and earnings collide.
What happened in software stocks?
Software names were under pressure throughout the morning after investors digested earnings from ServiceNow and IBM. ServiceNow stock sank more than 16% despite an upbeat earnings report, while IBM fell more than 8% as slowing revenue growth raised concerns that Anthropic’s AI tools could disrupt its business.
The broader software sector dropped roughly 5%, a clear signal that investors were reacting to more than just one company. The selloff added weight to the tech sector and helped push the Nasdaq lower. For traders watching slides in real time, the message was simple: even strong earnings can fail to satisfy when expectations are already high.
How are Iran war worries affecting the market?
Oil rose for a fourth day after Iran and the US failed to meet for further peace talks, with Brent crude futures moving back above $105 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate crude topping $96. The stalled negotiations left both sides at a stalemate, and supply concerns grew after reports that Iran plans to deploy more mines around the Strait of Hormuz.
That backdrop matters because higher oil can feed inflation worries just as investors are looking for relief. The market’s reaction showed how quickly slides can spread across sectors when energy prices climb and uncertainty deepens. For many investors, the concern is no longer only about earnings quality, but about whether war-stoked inflation pressures can overpower them.
What stood out beyond the headline losses?
Tesla also turned lower despite an earnings beat after Elon Musk signaled a large capital expenditure push that would weigh on cash flow. That detail added another layer to the day’s risk-off tone, where even companies that delivered better-than-expected results still faced skepticism if the outlook seemed costly.
There were pockets of strength elsewhere in the market landscape. Texas Instruments surged after a strong earnings beat and was on track for a seventh record close of 2026. Intel was also in focus ahead of its own earnings report after the bell, with attention on whether demand and data center growth could keep supporting its story. Even so, those brighter spots did not change the broader tone: slides remained the dominant market signal.
What does this mean for investors watching the next move?
For now, the day captured a market pulled in two directions. On one side were record highs and hopes that earnings could keep the rally alive. On the other were stalled peace talks, rising oil, and a software selloff that showed how fragile confidence can be.
That is why slides felt bigger than the numbers alone. They reflected a market re-pricing risk in real time, with geopolitics, inflation fears, and company-specific disappointments all pushing in the same direction. The next turn will depend on whether oil keeps climbing, whether earnings can restore confidence, and whether investors are willing to keep buying a market that has already moved so far, so fast.
