U.S. stocks are little changed Thursday morning as the market's recent rally loses steam. Health care and communications companies are edging upward while banks and technology companies are slipping. Morgan Stanley dropped after its fourth-quarter results fell short of Wall Street's expectations while railroad operator CSX fell after forecasting weaker revenue growth in 2019.
KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 index stayed at 2,615 as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 37 points, or 0.2 percent, to 24,170. The Nasdaq composite gained 5 points, or 0.1 percent, to 7,040. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks added 3 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,458.
BANKS CLANK: Morgan Stanley skidded 6.1 percent to $41.79 after its earnings and revenue disappointed analysts. Like a number of other big financial companies, Morgan Stanley was hurt by difficulties in trading during the volatile fourth quarter. While Morgan Stanley's traders are considered some of the best in the business, their stock trading revenue was flat over the last three months of the year and bond trading revenue tumbled 30 percent. The S&P 500 lost 14 percent during the last quarter of the year.
Other banks also traded lower. KeyCorp lost 4.4 percent to $16.02 after posting a smaller-than-expected profit. M&T Bank stood out and its shares rose 3.5 percent to $159.87.
STOPPED THAT TRAIN: Railroad company CSX fell 2.6 percent to $63.68 after saying its revenue growth will be in the low single digits in 2019. Its revenue rose 7 percent last year.
US-CHINA TENSIONS: The trade spat between the U.S. and China remained a chief area of concern for investors. Late Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. prosecutors are investigating Chinese technology giant Huawei over possible theft of trade secrets from T-Mobile and other U.S. companies. Intellectual property rights and theft of trade secrets is a central issue in the trade dispute, and criminal charges could ratchet trade tensions even higher. But on Thursday, China's government said the top trade envoys from both countries will meet in Washington later this month, a possible sign of progress toward ending their dispute.
TARNISHED: Signet Jewelers plunged 22.3 percent to $25.93 after it said its holiday season had been difficult and slashed its annual forecasts. The company said competition grew tougher in December and sales of some key products were weak. The company also said fewer customers came to its stores last month.
A series of big luxury retailers including department stores like Macy's have said they struggled over the holidays even though consumer confidence is high and pay for workers is rising. The stock market's steep losses in December appear to have made some consumers reluctant to splurge.
HARD DRIVE HARD TIMES: Western Digital lost 6.4 percent to $35.42 and Seagate shed 3.2 percent to $38.44 as digital storage companies sank.
OVERSEAS: The British FTSE slipped 0.5 percent and the CAC 40 of France fell 0.4 percent. Germany's DAX dipped 0.3 percent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.5 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 index edged 0.2 percent lower. South Korea's Kospi added 0.1 percent.
BONDS: Bond prices headed lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.74 percent from 2.73 percent.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 1.8 percent to $51.37 a barrel in New York, while Brent crude, the international standard, declined 1.4 percent to $60.49 a barrel in London.
AP Markets Writer Marley Jay can be reached at http://twitter.com/MarleyJayAP
Iran's top judge hinted at fast trials and executions for those who were detained in nationwide protests against the country's theocracy, even as activists said Wednesday that the death toll rose to levels unseen in decades with at least 2,572 people killed so far.
Iran’s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei made the comments about trials and executions in a video Tuesday, despite a warning from U.S. President Donald Trump that he would “take very strong action” if executions take place.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said the number of dead climbed to at least 2,571 early Wednesday. The figure dwarfs the death toll from any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
After Trump was informed on the number of deaths, he warned Iran's leaders that he was terminating any negotiations and would “act accordingly.”
Details of the crackdown began emerging Tuesday as Iranians made phone calls abroad for the first time in days after authorities severed communications countrywide when the protests broke out.
Here is the latest:
Major Middle East governments were discouraging the Trump administration from waging a war with Iran, fearing “unprecedented consequences” in the volatile region, an Arab Gulf diplomat said Wednesday.
The Cairo-based diplomat, who was given anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media, said major governments in the region including Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabai and Pakistan have been “in constant contact” with the U.S. administration over a potential American strike on Iran that could explode into a “full-blown war.”
Such a war will “certainly” have dire repercussions “not only on the Middle East but also on the global economy," he said.
Samy Magdy contributed from Cairo.
Iranian state television said Wednesday’s mass funeral in Tehran would include 300 bodies of security force members and civilians. The funeral is expected to take place at Tehran University under heavy security.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency, which is tracking the death toll, said more than 2,550 people have been killed, 2,403 protesters and 147 government-affiliated.
Twelve children were killed, along with nine civilians it said were not taking part in protests. More than 18,100 people have been detained, the group said.
Gauging the demonstrations and the death toll from abroad has grown more difficult and The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll given the communications being disrupted in the country.
Melanie Lidman contributed from Jerusalem.
Trump’s decision to impose a 25% tariff on countries that trade with Iran could impact India, an expert said, as New Delhi already faces existing 50% U.S. trade levies due its purchases of Russian oil.
Abhijit Mukhopadhyay, a senior economist at the Chintan Research Foundation in New Delhi, said the bigger risk is not India-Iran trade, but India’s access to the U.S. market as its exports to Iran are modest.
India mainly exports rice, tea, sugar, pharmaceuticals and electrical machinery to Iran, while importing dry fruits and chemical products. Textiles and garments, gems and jewelry and engineering goods are likely to be the most vulnerable sectors, he said.
Trump’s latest move also could affect India’s investments in Iran including the strategically important Chabahar port, which gives India a trade route to Afghanistan, Central Asia and Europe while bypassing Pakistan, Mukhopadhyay said.
Iran’s judiciary chief signals fast trials and executions for those detained in nationwide protests.
Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei made the comment in a video shared by Iranian state television on Wednesday.
He emphasized the need for swift action, saying delays would lessen the impact.
His remarks challenge Trump, who warned Iran about executions in an interview aired Tuesday.
Trump stated the U.S. would take strong action if Iran proceeded with executions. The situation highlights escalating tensions between the two countries over the handling of the protests.
Dozens of Pakistani students studying in Iran have returned home through a remote southwestern border crossing, a Pakistani immigration official said Wednesday.
Federal Investigation Agency spokesperson in Quetta city, Samina Raisani, said about 60 students crossed into Pakistan on Tuesday through Gabd border in Balochistan province with valid travel documents.
More students were expected to return through the same crossing later Wednesday, she said.
Mudassir Tipu, Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran, said Tuesday that Iranian universities had rescheduled exams and permitted international students to leave the country.
The satellite internet provider Starlink now offers free service in to people Iran who have access to the company's receivers, activists said Wednesday.
Mehdi Yahyanejad, a Los Angeles-based activist who helped get the units into Iran, told The Associated Press that the free service had started. Other activists also confirmed in messages online that the service was free.
Starlink has been the only way for Iranians to communicate with the outside world since authorities shut down the internet Thursday night as nationwide protests swelled and they began a bloody crackdown against demonstrators.
Starlink did not immediately acknowledge the decision.
This frame grab from videos taken between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11, 2026, and circulating on social media purportedly shows images from a morgue with dozens of bodies and mourners after crackdown on the outskirts of Iran's capital, in Kahrizak, Tehran Province. (UGC via AP)
