Wall Street Mixed, Dow Falls for Fifth Time Amid Rising Oil Prices

NEW YORK, KOMPAS.com - The United States (US) stock exchange, or Wall Street, closed mixed on Wednesday (29 April 2026) local time. Investors were monitoring the surge in crude oil prices, the US central bank’s interest rate decision, and a series of performance reports from major issuers released after market close. Citing Reuters on Thursday (30 April 2026), the Dow Jones Industrial Average weakened by 280.12 points or 0.57% to 48,861.81. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 dipped slightly by 2.82 points or 0.04% to 7,135.98, while the Nasdaq Composite rose marginally by 9.44 points or 0.04% to 24,673.24. Of the 11 major sectors in the S&P 500, the energy sector was the main driver of gains, boosted by the surge in crude oil prices. In contrast, the utilities and materials sectors recorded the deepest declines. At the stock level, Robinhood Markets plunged 13.2% after the online brokerage reported first-quarter earnings below market expectations. On the other hand, data storage company shares strengthened following an optimistic fourth-quarter projection from Seagate Technology. Seagate shares surged 11.1%, followed by SanDisk and Western Digital, which rose 6.2% and 5.6% respectively. Starbucks shares also recorded a significant increase of 8.5% after the company raised its annual earnings projection. Overall, trading volume on US exchanges reached 16.37 billion shares, lower than the 20-day average of 17.81 billion shares. Movements in the three major indices tended to be volatile following the US central bank’s policy statement, which indicated that the decision to maintain interest rates was one of the most controversial since 1992. This situation occurred amid rising uncertainty related to the surge in energy prices due to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. This policy meeting is also seen as potentially the last under Jerome Powell’s leadership. On the other hand, crude oil prices surged after the White House confirmed reports that US President Donald Trump had instructed relevant officials to prepare for the possibility of a prolonged blockade against Iranian ports.