US equities retreated from intraday record highs on Thursday, with the S&P 500 closing at 7'337 (-0.4%), the Nasdaq at 25'806 (-0.1%), and the Dow Jones at 49'597 (-0.6%), as oil prices rebounded from session lows and traders awaited Iran's formal response to the US-drafted 14-point peace memorandum. Breadth deteriorated sharply beneath the headline: the Russell 2000 fell 1.7% and the S&P 400 MidCap shed 1.3%, reflecting rotation out of domestic cyclicals and rate-sensitive small caps.
European markets closed broadly lower, with the STOXX 600 declining 1.1% to 616, the FTSE 100 off 1.5% to 10'277, and the Swiss SMI down 1.1% to 13'135. Asian markets eased overnight, with the Nikkei down 0.2% to 62'714, the Hang Seng shedding 0.9% to 26'398, and the Shanghai Composite flat at 4'177.
The US 10-year Treasury ended at 4.38% and the 2-year at 3.86%, a curve of approximately 52 basis points consistent with pricing for a prolonged Fed
pause at 3.50–3.75%.
Finally, gold settled at $4'686 (-0.1%) and WTI crude at $94.81 (-0.3%), recovering from deeper intraday lows as US-Iran diplomacy stayed unresolved.
EN
