Investing.com -- U.S. stocks fell sharply on Thursday, suffering its worst one-day sell-off in two weeks, as a rally in the dollar triggered a reversal in oil prices and a disappointing session among defensive sectors weighed on the major indices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 113.75 or 0.63% to 17,982.52, while the S&P 500 Composite index fell 10.92 or 0.52% to 2,091.48, on a rare losing session for both. Previously, both the Dow and S&P 500 had closed higher in six of seven sessions. The Dow closed below 18,000 for the first time in four sessions. The NASDAQ Composite index, meanwhile, fell 2.24 or 0.05% to 4,945.89, as software and other technology stocks lagged.
On the S&P 500, eight of 10 sectors closed in the red, as stocks in the Utilities, Telecommunications and Consumer Goods sectors lagged. Stocks in the Health Care sector led, gaining more than 0.60% on the session. Also on Thursday, yields on the U.S. 10-Year surged to a 3-week high at 1.8%, as investors departed from interest-rate sensitive stocks in Utilities. With the considerable losses, the S&P 500 retreated from near all-time highs.
The top performer on the Dow was IBM (NYSE:IBM), which added 3.19 or 2.18% to 149.30. Shares in IBM continued to rebound after the technology giant suffered its largest one-day sell-off in 18 months on Tuesday following the release of disappointing quarterly earnings. The worst performer was The Travelers Companies Inc (NYSE:TRV), which fell 7.01 or 6.05% to 108.79. Earlier on Thursday, the insurance giant said its profits slumped 17% over the first quarter due primary to a slew of catastrophic storms in Texas over the first three months of the year.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was Viacom Inc (NASDAQ:VIA), which surged 4.95 or 13.24% to 42.33. It came after the cable giant came to terms with DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ:DISH) in an 11th hour, multi-year renewal deal earlier on Thursday. Under the agreement, Viacom's 18-channel package, including Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and MTV will remain on The Dish Network. Dish, meanwhile, will begin offering some of the Viacom channels on its web-based service Sling TV. The worst performer was Mattel Inc (NASDAQ:MAT), which plunged 1.84 or 5.57% to 31.20. Over the first quarter, Barbie sales fell 3% globally, weighing on the company's overall profits.
Viacom also finished as the top performer on the S&P 500, just ahead of Endo International, which surged 3.41 or 12.00% to 31.83. The worst performer was Alliance Data Systems Corporation (NYSE:ADS), which plummeted 14.78 or 6.78% to 203.14. Shares in the Texas-based loyalty marketing services company are down more than 27% over the last year.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, rallied sharply to an intraday high of 94.68 in U.S. afternoon trading. Despite the rebound, the index still remains near eight-month lows. U.S. Crude futures reached fresh 2016-yearly highs on Thursday, before settling below $44 a barrel due to the stronger dollar.
Investors await the release of a host of quarterly earning from prominent companies after the bell, including: Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) and Visa Inc (NYSE:V).
On the New York Stock Exchange, declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by a 1,938 to 1,108 margin.