US stocks closed lower on Thursday, with the Dow down 0.36%, the S&P 500 off 0.35% and the Nasdaq down 0.39% as Nvidia fell 4.3%. Energy shares rose 1.5%, while markets fully priced in at least a 25-basis-point Fed rate hike in December.
Nvidia shares fell 4.3%, after dropping nearly 12% earlier in the session, as CEO Jensen Huang's exit weighed on the stock. Retail investors bought about $111 million of Nvidia shares in the first half-hour, the stock's biggest opening bid on record, according to Vanda Analytics. The Dow fell 189.40 points to 52,297.09, the S&P 500 lost 26.98 points to 7,592.40, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 100.10 points to 25,366.09.
The S&P 500 energy sector rose 1.5%, its fourth consecutive session of gains and the best performance among the 11 major sectors, as crude prices climbed. Nebius dropped 16.8% after reporting quarterly results and an outlook, while CoreWeave fell 6.9%. Broadcom, Advanced Micro Devices and Alphabet moved higher.
Markets fully priced in a December Fed rate hike of at least 25 basis points, with a 15% chance of a 50-basis-point increase. Investors awaited Friday's Producer Price Index release after a hotter-than-expected consumer price reading earlier in the week.
