The Dow Jones industrial index and S&P 500 fell 0.6 percent, while the Nasdaq composite index dropped 0.5 percent.
What everyone was waiting for was Nvidia's report, which was released after the stock market closed. Nvidia, the world's second-highest valued listed company, has risen about 40 percent after a low point in April.
On Wednesday, Nvidia closed up 0.1 percent.
According to James Demmert, investment manager at the advisory firm Main Street Research, the report is crucial for the entire stock market.
It can blow new life into investors' optimism across the board and help investors focus on the power of AI and less on headlines from Washington about import tariffs and taxes, he tells Bloomberg.
Another thing that kept the stock market sentiment down was the protocol published from the meeting on May 6-7 at the Federal Reserve's monetary policy committee (FOMC).
Then, the Fed decided not to lower the key interest rate. A strongly contributing reason for this – according to the protocol – was the assessment that inflation is still too high and risks being driven by import tariffs.
The oil price rose following a meeting in the oil cartel Opec-plus, where production levels were discussed. Also, concerns about Iranian and Russian production played in due to the tense security policy situation.
