Dow closes lower as Wall Street falls for fourth straight day

4:15pm: Another day of losses

Wall Street closed lower for a fourth straight session on Thursday as investors digested fresh wholesale inflation data and continued to grapple with rising bond yields and oil prices above $100 a barrel.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 317 points, or 0.6%, to close at 52,064. The S&P 500 also dropped 0.6%, losing 45 points to finish at 7,592, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 172 points, or 0.7%, to 26,082.

The latest sell-off came as investors weighed signs of persistent price pressures, raising concerns that higher inflation could squeeze corporate profit margins and complicate the outlook for central bank policy. Rising Treasury yields added further pressure on equities, particularly growth stocks.

Oil prices remained above $100 a barrel, keeping inflation concerns in focus and adding to worries about the impact of higher energy costs on consumers and businesses.

Investors will now turn their attention to earnings after the closing bell, with Oracle and Adobe both due to report results.

3:40pm: Small cap wrap

• Reconnaissance Energy Africa Ltd (TSX-V:RECO, OTCQX:RECAF, FRA:0XD) raised C$21.85 million through a bought-deal offering to fund horizontal sidetrack drilling and production testing targeting the Huttenberg and Elandshoek formations in Namibia.
• Medicus Pharma (NASDAQ:MDCX) reported that all 90 patients completed its Phase 2 SkinJect trial without discontinuations, with the results set to inform the design of a future registrational trial for a rare genetic skin cancer syndrome.
• TNR Gold Corp (TSX-V:TNR, FRA:TNW, OTC:TRRXF) said its royalty-linked Los Azules project is advancing after McEwen Copper secured a $240 million term loan to fund engineering and early works at the copper, gold and silver project in Argentina.
• 1911 Gold Corp (TSX-V:AUMB, OTCQB:AUMBF, FRA:2KY) reported underground drill results from its True North Gold Project in Manitoba that confirmed a connection between the L10 Zone and the larger 710-711 Zone.
• Grey Matters Health (CSE:GREY, OTCQB:AGNPD, FRA:AGW0) raised C$600,000 in the first tranche of its private placement to advance its Alzheimer's Disease program toward opening a US brain-specific neuroimaging clinic and support working capital.
• Purepoint Uranium Group Inc (TSX-V:PTU, OTCQX:PTUUF, FRA:P5X0) reported uranium mineralization across multiple holes at the Nova Target, including a high-grade intercept of 1.65% U₃O₈ over 0.3 metres, providing additional data for future drilling.
• HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd (TSX:HIVE, NASDAQ:HIVE, FRA:YO0, BVC:HIVECO) appointed Mark Volk as senior vice president of revenue at its BUZZ High Performance Computing subsidiary as combined daily revenue from hashrate and GPU cloud services surpassed $1 million.
• Sintana Energy Inc (TSX-V:SEI, OTCQB:SEUSF, FRA:3ZX1, AIM:SEI) signed definitive agreements to acquire an indirect 5% participating interest in Angola's Block KON-16 for US$2.5 million as partners work toward drilling a pre-salt exploration well in 2027.

2:30pm: Market movers

• American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (NYSE:AEO) shares fell nearly 16% after mixed second-quarter results, as sales beat expectations but earnings were boosted by tariff refunds and pressure persisted at the core American Eagle brand.
• Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL, XETRA:APC) shares rose 3.1% after the company unveiled its first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, marking one of the biggest changes to its iPhone lineup in years.
• Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL, XETRA:ORC) was set to report fiscal first-quarter 2027 results as Wall Street weighed rising capital expenditure concerns against expectations for accelerating cloud and infrastructure-as-a-service growth.
• 1-800-Flowers.com shares fell 9.3% after the company reported a wider-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter loss, missed revenue estimates and issued a weak profit outlook for fiscal 2027.
• Designer Brands shares rose 5.4% after the footwear and accessories retailer beat second-quarter earnings expectations and raised its full-year profit guidance.
• Macy's, Inc. (NYSE:M) raised its full-year profit outlook after second-quarter sales beat expectations with help from tariff refunds, although shares fell 3% on weaker-than-expected guidance.

1:15pm: Oracle earnings ahead

Oracle reports fiscal first-quarter 2027 results tonight, with investors weighing rapid cloud growth against rising capital spending and profitability concerns.

Bank of America expects infrastructure-as-a-service revenue to surge 116% year-over-year, supported by roughly 1GW of new data center capacity, while total revenue growth accelerates to 28%. However, margins are expected to weaken as Oracle expands its infrastructure business.

Jefferies also flagged financing, execution and customer-concentration risks, though it believes sentiment may be near its low point after the stock's sharp decline.

Both firms see Oracle Cloud Infrastructure growth as the key metric to watch, with expectations for growth of about 115%.

11:30am: Inflation pressures entrenched

As the conflict with Iran drags on longer than many expected, LPL's Jeffrey Roach said that inflation pressures are becoming increasingly entrenched, leaving investors in search of a catalyst strong enough to change the inflation narrative.

"At this rate, a hike in rates next week appears likely," Roach added.

Elsewhere, analysts at BofA said details of the PPI report that affect core PCE were "stronger than we initially assumed."

"As a result we revise up our core PCE tracking estimate from 24bp to 26bp," analysts wrote. "If correct, that should greenlight a hike in September."

10:05am: Rising yields pressure stocks

Stocks moved lower at the open on Thursday as Treasury yields climbed to their highest level in years and oil prices held above $100 a barrel, while investors digested fresh wholesale inflation data ahead of Friday's consumer price report.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 157 points, or 0.3%, to 52,224, while the S&P 500 dropped 0.4% to 7,608. The Nasdaq declined 130 points, or 0.5%, to 26,124.

The pressure came as the 10-year Treasury yield jumped 8 basis points to 4.91%, its highest level since 2023, adding to concerns that higher borrowing costs could weigh on the economy and corporate valuations. Oil prices also remained elevated above $100, keeping inflation concerns front and centre.

Meanwhile, the latest Producer Price Index showed wholesale inflation continued to rise broadly in line with expectations. Producer prices increased 5.4% year-over-year, while core producer prices rose 4.6%, setting the stage for the government's closely watched consumer inflation report due Friday.

Investors were also watching the Treasury Department, which is due to buy back around $6 billion of longer-term debt.

On the corporate front, Macy's Inc. tumbled after its third-quarter guidance disappointed investors, overshadowing a strong quarterly performance and an increase to its outlook. The department store operator's guidance for the lower end of its comparable sales and sales ranges came in below analyst expectations, while its adjusted diluted earnings per share outlook also fell short.

Attention will turn to earnings after the closing bell, with Oracle and Adobe both scheduled to report.

9:00am: Inflation comes in line

US producer prices rose 0.4% in August, in line with expectations, while the annual PPI rate accelerated to 5.4%, slightly above forecasts of 5.3%.

Core PPI increased 0.2% on the month, below the 0.3% forecast, while the annual core rate matched expectations at 4.6%.

Meanwhile, initial jobless claims edged down to 206,000, just above the 205,000 forecast, pointing to continued low layoffs in the U.S. labor market.

Ahead of the bell

Wall Street looks set for a mixed open on Thursday, with Dow and S&P 500 futures nudging 0.1% higher while Nasdaq contracts slipped 0.1%.

The main event comes after the close, when Oracle reports earnings in what should be a reality check on AI spending and demand.

Before that, wholesale inflation data lands, with economists pencilling in a 5.2% annual rise in producer prices, setting the stage for Friday's consumer inflation report.

Oil at least paused for breath after Brent topped $100 a barrel this week, though President Trump warned prices may not ease until after November's midterms.

The 10-year Treasury yield hit a three-year high on Wednesday after the Treasury said it would buy up to $6 billion of longer-dated debt.

Trump, meanwhile, floated sending every American adult a $5,000 cheque if Republicans hold Congress, a promise with a price tag north of $1 trillion.

Busy day, then.