US sharemarkets finished mixed on Thursday as investors rotated away from mega-cap technology and into more traditional parts of the market. The Dow rose 270 points, or 0.55%, while the Nasdaq fell 0.44%. The S&P 500 was essentially flat, up 0.01%, with gains in most sectors offset by a sharp slide in information technology, which dropped more than 1%.
This wasn’t a risk-off day — it was a leadership change. The market held up, but the composition of winners and losers shifted.
Tech and AI take a breather
The selling pressure was concentrated in large tech and AI-linked names. Nvidia fell more than 2%, Oracle slipped more than 1%, and Apple fell again, marking its seventh straight session of declines.
In the wider chip ecosystem, memory storage names were hit hard, with Seagate and Western Digital down at least 7.2%, and SanDisk down 6.4%.
Defence stocks surge on budget signal
A standout pocket of strength was defence. Stocks rallied after President Donald Trump called for a US$1.5trn defence budget in 2027, up from the US$901bn approved by Congress for 2026. Lockheed Martin rose around 4%, Northrop Grumman gained about 3%, and Kratos Defence jumped more than 14%.
Oil rebounds after Venezuela-driven slide
Oil prices bounced after the prior session’s weakness, with Brent and WTI both up around 3%. Wednesday’s drop had been linked to Trump comments about Venezuela potentially transferring up to 50 million barrels to the US, which revived oversupply concerns.
Australia
Australian shares are set to open higher, tracking the Dow’s gains, though the tech selling kept the broader US market flat. SPI futures are pointing to a 44 point or 0.51% rise. The next major focus is data: China’s December inflation figures are due 12.30pm AEDT, then the spotlight swings to the US non-farm payrolls report at 12.30am Saturday AEDT, a release that could move markets either way — weak jobs data raises slowdown fears, while strong data can cool rate-cut expectations.
