US stocks closed mixed on Thursday as a surge in crude oil and a sharp selloff in semiconductor shares pulled the major indexes in opposite directions — and left investors choosing, sector by sector, which risk they feared more.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 51.77 points, or 0.10 percent, to close at 51,231.64, powered by energy and defensive names. The S&P 500 fell 0.47 percent to 7,765.36, and the Nasdaq Composite led declines, losing 1.25 percent to 27,193.34. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 3.39 percent.
Inside the Dow, the split was stark. Home Depot rose 3.40 percent and Chevron 3.14 percent, with IBM, Travelers, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola all climbing as oil prices jumped on Middle East supply fears and tankers came under attack near the Strait of Hormuz. On the other side, Nvidia fell 2.94 percent — the Dow’s worst performer — while Amazon lost 2.27 percent, Caterpillar 2.17 percent and Cisco 2.13 percent, as a disappointing revenue update from a leading AI company rippled through the entire artificial-intelligence supply chain.
Brent crude rose about 3.5 percent on the day, extending a run that has taken it above $104 a barrel and reviving the inflation worries that have stalked markets all autumn.
By Friday morning, futures pointed higher as chip stocks bounced and oil eased after the president ruled out new strikes on Iran before the midterm elections. The Dow added roughly 400 points in afternoon trading Friday. Traders described a market not in panic, but in rotation — out of the most crowded technology trades and into anything that sells fuel, food or insurance against the next headline.
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