NEW YORK, New York - On Wall Street Thursday, U.S. stocks retreated from their recent record-breaking run. Investors and traders are becoming increasingly fatigued by the ever-changing pronouncements out of the White House as to the state of play in negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, to end the ongoing war.

The Standard and Poor's 500 fell 28.01 points to close at 7,337.11, a decline of 0.38 percent. Trading volume for the index reached 3.468 billion.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 313.62 points to finish om Thursday at 49,596.97, off 0.63 percent, on volume of 476.668 million.

Meanwhile, the NASDAQ Composite lost 32.75 points to end the session at 25,806.20, a more modest decline of 0.13 percent. Volume on the NASDAQ stood at 7.093 billion.

Global stock markets delivered a sharply divided performance at the close of trading on Thursday, with Asian indices posting robust gains while European bourses closed firmly in the red.

Canadian, UK, and European markets saw heavier losses. Germany's DAX P slid 255.08 points to 24,663.61, down 1.02 percent.

In France the CAC 40 dropped 97.34 points to finish at 8,202.08, a loss of 1.17 percent.

The EURO STOXX 50 I fell 54.48 points to 5,972.65, a decline of 0.90 percent, while the Euronext 100 Index lost 20.27 points to close at 1,825.01, off 1.10 percent. Belgium's BEL 20 ended at 5,469.75, down 85.40 points, or 1.54 percent.

In London', the FTSE 100 plunged 161.75 points to close at 10,276.95, a steep fall of 1.55 percent. 

In Asia, the picture was decidedly brighter. Hong Kong's HANG SENG INDEX surged 412.50 points to close at 26,626.28, a gain of 1.57 percent.

China's SSE Composite Index rose 19.92 points to close at 4,180.09, up 0.48 percent on volume of 4.133 billion. Japan's Nikkei 225 delivered the most dramatic move of the session, skyrocketing 3,320.74 points to finish at a towering 62,833.84, an eye-catching gain of 5.5 percent.

The STI Index added 14.58 points to finish at 4,941.96, up 0.30 percent.

Australia saw strong advances: the S&P/ASX 200 rose 84.50 points to 8,878.10, a gain of 0.96 percent, and the ALL ORDINARIES climbed 90.90 points to 9,107.00, up 1.01 percent.

In India, the S&P BSE SENSEX bucked the regional trend, slipping 114.00 points to close at 77,844.52, a marginal decline of 0.15 percent. Elsewhere in the region, Indonesia's IDX COMPOSITE jumped 81.85 points to 7,174.32, a rise of 1.15 percent.

In Malaysia', the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI advanced 11.42 points to 1,758.85, up 0.65 percent. New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 INDEX GROSS added 125.41 points to close at 13,270.61, a gain of 0.95 percent.

South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index soared 105.49 points to 7,490.05, up 1.43 percent. Taiwan's TWSE Capitalization Weighted Stock Index posted one of the day's strongest performances, rocketing 794.88 points to close at 41,933.78, a gain of 1.93 percent.

In North America, Canada's S&P/TSX Composite index fell 125.20 points to finish at 33,856.62, down 0.37 percent on volume of 324.193 million.

In the Middle East, Israel's TA-125 declined 29.65 points to close at 4,443.43, a loss of 0.66 percent.

In Egypt, the EGX 30 Price Return Index was a standout gainer, surging 1,047.50 points to 53,605.10, up 1.99 percent on volume of 738.669 million.

South Africa's Top 40 USD Net TRI Index added 40.60 points to finish at 7,338.97, a gain of 0.56 percent.

The divergent performance highlights ongoing regional disparities in investor sentiment, with Asian markets drawing strong buying interest while Western benchmarks succumbed to profit-taking and macroeconomic concerns.

FX Markets Mixed on Thursday as U.S. Dollar Gains on Yen and Franc; Euro and Pound Slip

Foreign exchange trading saw a mixed session on Thursday, with the U.S. dollar posting modest gains against the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc, while the euro and British pound retreated from earlier levels.

According to the latest quotes Thursday, the EUR/USD pair traded at 1.1738, down 0.00093 points on the day, representing a decline of 0.08 percent. The single currency moved between a high of 1.1778 and a low of 1.1735, as traders digested fresh economic data out of the eurozone.

The GBP/USD pair also faced selling pressure, last changing hands at 1.3570. That marked a drop of 0.00226 points, or 0.17 percent, from the previous session. Sterling's peak for the day was 1.3632, while it bottomed out at 1.3567.

In contrast, the greenback strengthened against its Asian and European counterparts. The USD/JPY pair surged 0.4455 points to 156.83, a gain of 0.28 percent. The pair traded in a wide range, hitting a high of 156.86 and a low of 156.02.

Similarly, the USD/CHF pair rose to 0.7797, up 0.00100 points, or 0.13 percent. The Swiss franc weakened after the dollar found support at a daily low of 0.7765 before climbing to 0.7798.

The USD/CAD pair edged higher by 0.00107 points to settle at 1.3644, a gain of 0.08 percent. The Canadian dollar remained under modest pressure as oil prices fluctuated, with the pair's daily range spanning from 1.3620 to 1.3644.

Commodity-linked currencies underperformed on Thursday. The AUD/USD fell 0.00159 points to 0.7221, a decline of 0.22 percent. The Australian dollar reached a session high of 0.7264 before sliding to a low of 0.7218.

Finally, the NZD/USD dropped 0.00085 points to 0.5946, down 0.14 percent. The kiwi traded as high as 0.5984 and as low as 0.5944 before stabilizing at current levels.

(This report incorporates quotes retrieved with the assistance of artificial intelligence).

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