Stocks fall as traders monitor Iran; Sandisk shares drop

Stocks were lower on Thursday as traders kept an eye on the Middle East, with a deal to reopen the key Strait of Hormuz in the works, and weighed a slew of corporate earnings releases.

The S&P 500 traded down 0.2%, as did the Nasdaq Composite. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 331 points, or 0.6%, weighed down by a 4% drop in shares of Salesforce after the company announced a leadership shuffle.

Sandisk shares dropped 5%. The memory name posted fiscal fourth-quarter results that failed to impress investors.

Additionally, AppLovin tumbled 19% on mixed quarterly results, and Western Digital shed 11% as the company’s first-quarter forecast disappointed investors. Its fourth-quarter results topped expectations, however.

“The markets seem to be mostly taking a breather after an active period of trading prompted by earnings results,” said JJ Kinahan, Cboe’s head of retail expansion and alternative investment products. “Better-than-expected profits and sales don’t always pump stocks prices when coupled with soft guidance.”

“Some profit-taking could also be in play,” he also said, noting that both Sandisk and Western Digital have skyrocketed in the last year. Over the past 12 months, Sandisk has soared 3,000%, while Western Digital has surged more than 500%.