Global Stocks Mixed Thursday: S&P 500, Nasdaq Ease; L'Oreal, Nokia Rise

Global stocks saw a mixed day on Thursday as crude prices climbed due to Iran's control over the Strait of Hormuz, and investors processed various corporate earnings reports.

US stock indexes were modestly lower, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq easing from recent record highs. The pan-European STOXX 600 index, however, edged up 0.1 per cent. Dublin's Iseq closed about 1 per cent lower, impacted by declines in Ryanair (down 1.6 per cent to €23.48), AIB (down 2.3 per cent), and Bank of Ireland (down 1.2 per cent). London's FTSE 100 closed 0.2 per cent lower, marking its fourth session of declines, with Barclays and HSBC falling 1.5 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively.

European shares were nominally higher, reversing earlier weakness. L'Oreal surged 8 per cent after reporting its fastest quarterly growth in two years, and Nokia rose over 3 per cent post-results. In New York, main indexes were flat as investors awaited clarity on the US-Iran situation and assessed mixed earnings. IBM slumped 8 per cent due to slowed revenue growth in its software business, Tesla fell 2.6 per cent after raising its spending plan to over $25 billion, and Lockheed Martin dropped 4.8 per cent after a lower first-quarter profit. Avis Budget shares plummeted 46.3 per cent, while Texas Instruments surged 18.4 per cent on strong Q2 forecasts.