Wall Street Slides Amid Private Equity Selloff and AI Concerns

Wall Street's main indexes dropped on Thursday, led by declines in private equity firms and some tech stocks. Blue Owl Capital's asset sale sparked a selloff in financials, while concerns about AI's impact on businesses drove mixed performance in tech. Gains in Deere & Co and rising oil prices limited overall losses.

Wall Street's primary indexes saw a downturn on Thursday, driven by significant declines in financials and technology stocks. The move comes after Blue Owl Capital's decision to offload $1.4 billion in assets and halt redemptions to manage its debt. Financial firms like Apollo Global and KKR experienced sharp falls, with Blue Owl itself dropping 9%.

John Furner, newly appointed CEO of Walmart, announced a conservative forecast for fiscal 2027 and a $30 billion buyback plan, impacting Walmart shares slightly. In contrast, Deere & Co surged by more than 12% following a positive annual profit forecast, which helped cushion the broader market losses.

Concerns over AI's potential business disruption led to a mixed day for megacap and growth stocks, while the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index faced pressure. Meanwhile, a potential U.S.-Iran conflict pushed the S&P 500 energy index up by 0.9%. Investors are now eyeing upcoming Fed decisions and economic data releases for further market direction.

(With inputs from agencies.)