Stock Market Today: US stocks turned sharply lower Thursday as Nvidia’s post-earnings slide rippled through tech and semiconductors, pulling the Nasdaq down nearly 2% and pressuring the broader market. The S&P 500 fell about 1% and the Dow eased roughly 0.3%–0.4%, as investors weighed what looked like a blowout Nvidia quarter against a market that’s become unusually hard to impress.
By late morning in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was near 49,370, down roughly 112 points. The S&P 500 hovered around 6,885, while the Nasdaq Composite traded near 22,797 — a pullback that looked less like panic and more like a reset in expectations after a hot AI-led run.
Nvidia drops about 5% even after a blockbuster quarter
Nvidia shares slid to roughly $185, down about 5% on the session after closing the previous day near $195.62. The stock opened around $194.21 before sellers took control, with the day’s range stretching from about $184.58 up to $194.21. Trading was heavy, with volume around 244.7 million shares versus average volume near 171.3 million, a sign that the market was actively repricing the “AI bellwether” rather than simply drifting lower.
Even at the lower price, Nvidia remained one of the market’s most influential weights, with an intraday market cap around $4.51 trillion. Valuation metrics stayed elevated: Nvidia’s trailing P/E was near 45.74, with trailing EPS around $4.05, and a beta around 2.31 underscoring how violently the stock can swing when sentiment shifts.
The tension for investors is straightforward: Nvidia delivered extraordinary growth, but the bar was set even higher. In fiscal Q4 (ended Jan. 25), Nvidia posted revenue of $68.1 billion, up 73% year over year, with adjusted earnings of $1.62 per share. Guidance also came in strong, with Nvidia projecting roughly $78 billion in revenue for the next quarter. The problem wasn’t the magnitude of the beat — it was the feeling that Wall Street wanted more detail on what sustains that pace as competition intensifies and the AI buildout matures. For the official earnings release and headline numbers, see Nvidia’s results summary on Nvidia’s investor news site.
Nasdaq leads the decline as the AI trade gets “repriced”
Nvidia’s move mattered beyond a single ticker. The stock’s pullback dragged the broader semiconductor complex lower, weighing on the tech-heavy Nasdaq and tightening the market’s tolerance for anything that looks like “priced for perfection.” In recent months, Nvidia’s earnings have acted like a stress test for the entire AI theme — and Thursday’s reaction suggested that investors are now more focused on durability than spectacle.
That shift showed up in the way the market traded: mega-cap growth names leaned lower, chip stocks weakened in sympathy, and the Nasdaq underperformed. The S&P 500 declined less than the Nasdaq, while the Dow — helped by areas less exposed to high-multiple tech — held up comparatively better.
Macro check: jobless claims add to a cautious tone
On the economic front, weekly jobless claims didn’t deliver a shock, but they reinforced the market’s cautious mood. Initial jobless claims were about 212,000 for the latest week, modestly above the prior week’s 208,000 and below expectations near 216,000. Continuing claims were around 1.83 million, down from roughly 1.87 million. Taken together, it looked like a labor market that’s stable but not accelerating — the kind of backdrop that can keep investors focused on inflation updates and rate-cut timing rather than chasing risk at any price.
What traders are watching next
From here, markets are likely to trade off two forces. First, whether Nvidia’s guidance translates into sustained demand across data centers and enterprise AI deployments — and whether management’s commentary is enough to quiet questions about competitive pressure and the trajectory of spending from the biggest customers. Second, whether incoming inflation and growth data keep the Federal Reserve path open for easing later in the year, a key support for equity multiples.
For now, Thursday’s tape delivered a clear message: “great” results can still disappoint when the market has already priced in “historic.” Nvidia didn’t miss — expectations simply moved faster than fundamentals, and the market responded by stepping back.
