US open: Stocks head south as Trump threatens to hit Iran 'extremely hard'

(Sharecast News) - Major indices were firmly in the red early on Thursday after Donald Trump threatened to "hit" Iran "extremely hard". As of 1515 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.23% at 45,990.81, while the S&P 500 shed 1.21% to 6,495.70 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 1.96% weaker at 21,413.70.

The Dow opened 574.93 points lower on Thursday, more than reversing gains recorded in the previous session.

Stocks traded lower after Trump delivered an address on Wednesday night, saying the US was "getting very close" to ending the war with Iran but warned that Washington would continue to strike Tehran over the next few weeks. "Over the next two to three weeks, we're going to bring them back to the stone ages where they belong," he said.

Oil prices also jumped following the speech, with West Texas Intermediate last seen 11.51% higher at $111.64 a barrel, and Brent crude gaining 7.84% to trade at $109.09 a barrel.

On the macro front, US employers announced 60,620 job cuts in March, up from 48,307 in February but well below the 275,240 recorded a year earlier, according to last month's Challenger, Gray & Christmas jobs report. The technology sector saw the largest number of planned reductions at 18,720, followed by pharmaceuticals, education and financial services, with artificial intelligence cited as the main driver of cuts, accounting for 15,341, or roughly a quarter of the total figure. However, despite March's increase, US employers announced 217,362 cuts across the first quarter - the lowest Q1 total since 2022 and down 16% from the final three months of 2025.

Elsewhere, Americans lined up for unemployment benefits at a decelerated pace in the week ended 29 March, according to the Labor Department, coming close to January's two‑year low. Initial jobless claims fell by 9,000 to 202,000, well below consensus estimates of 212,000, underscoring the continued low level of layoffs that has helped limit expectations for further Federal Reserve rate cuts this year. Continuing claims, on the other had, rose by 25,000 to 1.84m in the prior week, while the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, decreased by 2,000 to 207,750. On another note, the advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 1.2% for the week ended 21 March, unchanged from the previous week's unrevised rate.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Thursday.

Wall Street traders will take a break tomorrow for the Good Friday holiday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $48.76 3.77% Chevron Corp. (CVX) $203.40 2.72% Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $41.67 2.27% Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $246.47 1.06% Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $76.56 0.76% Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $121.20 0.55% International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $244.57 0.52% Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $49.53 0.50% Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $291.62 0.29% Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $274.60 0.13%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Nike Inc. (NKE) $43.35 -3.04% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $320.58 -2.68% American Express Co. (AXP) $295.42 -2.14% Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) $847.74 -1.77% Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $77.42 -1.60% Boeing Co. (BA) $204.79 -1.50% Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $183.84 -1.50% Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $720.17 -1.38% Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $95.55 -1.37% JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $291.69 -1.33%

S&P 500 - Risers

CF Industries Holdings Inc. (CF) $135.14 5.80% LyondellBasell Industries (LYB) $80.39 4.82% Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) $64.91 4.15% Intel Corp. (INTC) $48.76 3.77% Apache Corp. (APA) $43.30 3.65% Diamondback Energy Inc. (FANG) $199.73 3.42% CME Group Inc. (CME) $304.43 3.33% Eog Resources Inc. (EOG) $144.90 3.25% Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC) $245.76 3.20% ConocoPhillips (COP) $132.98 3.16%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Estee Lauder Co. Inc. (EL) $67.00 -5.77% PVH Corp. (PVH) $73.11 -5.43% United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $89.51 -5.39% Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) $36.42 -5.13% Affiliated Mgrs Group (AMG) $257.59 -5.12% Carnival Corp. (CCL) $25.26 -5.08% Alaska Air Group Inc. (ALK) $35.99 -5.07% Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH) $18.42 -4.95% Fortune Brands Innovations, Inc. (FBIN) $36.37 -4.94% Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (SWK) $68.04 -4.90%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $48.76 3.77% Illumina Inc. (ILMN) $127.03 2.66% Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (CHKP) $145.87 2.65% Cintas Corp. (CTAS) $171.71 2.41% Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $129.50 2.11% eBay Inc. (EBAY) $93.31 1.97% Liberty Global plc Series C (LBTYK) $11.92 1.71% Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) $1,006.71 1.58% Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. (CTSH) $61.42 1.46% Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $12.32 1.27%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $1.98 -7.06% American Airlines Group (AAL) $10.48 -4.33% Asml Holdings N.V. (ASML) $1,324.13 -3.46% QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $124.83 -3.29% Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $63.67 -3.20% T-Mobile Us, Inc. (TMUS) $199.35 -3.18% Hasbro Inc (HAS) $88.47 -3.13% Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $169.96 -2.92% Biogen Inc (BIIB) $179.93 -2.81% Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $307.00 -2.77%