U.S. stocks ended the session in negative territory, with the Dow Jones unofficially closing down 48.08 points, or 0.09%, at 51,872.54. The index had fallen as much as 358.17 points, or 0.69%, to 51,354.54 at market open before paring some of those losses. The NASDAQ fell 1.88% to 25,675.75, while the S&P 500 dropped 1.39% to 7,370.98. Consumer staples shares jumped by 1.3%, while information technology stocks fell by 3.1%.

Korn Ferry Reports Quarterly Results

Korn Ferry reported upbeat earnings for the fourth quarter. The company posted quarterly earnings of $1.40 per share, beating the analyst consensus estimate of $1.38 per share. Quarterly sales came in at $768.256 million, surpassing the analyst consensus estimate of $743.340 million.

The table below summarises Korn Ferry's key quarterly performance metrics:

Equities Trading Up

Several stocks posted strong gains during the session. Atlantic International Corp shares shot up 151% to $1.10 after the company announced that Seven Stars, a company within its Circle8 Group platform, secured an approximately $52 million four-year framework agreement by the Dutch Vehicle Authority. Ridgetech Inc surged 86% to $2.55. Boundless Bio Inc gained 67% to $2.34 after Boundless Bio and Serapha Bio signed an all-stock merger agreement.

Equities Trading Down

On the downside, Nexentis Technologies Inc shares dropped 50% to $6.52 after surging 155.91% during Monday's session. INLIF Ltd fell 47% to $0.059. Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust Inc was down 37% to $2.41 after filing a prospectus for offering 100.09 million common shares.

Commodities and Global Markets

In commodity markets, oil traded down 0.3% to $73.64, while gold traded down 1.8% at $4,129.30. Silver traded down 5.6% to $61.920, and copper fell 3% to $6.1790. European shares were lower — the eurozone's STOXX 600 declined 0.9%, Spain's IBEX 35 Index fell 0.7%, London's FTSE 100 fell 0.4%, Germany's DAX dipped 0.9%, and France's CAC 40 fell 0.7%. Asian markets closed lower, with Japan's Nikkei 225 dipping 3.55%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index falling 1.82%, China's Shanghai Composite declining 1.37%, and India's BSE Sensex falling 1.16%.

Economics

The S&P Global composite PMI is scheduled for release today.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened lower, falling 216.38 points, or 0.42%, to reach 51,704.24 shortly after the market open. The decline reflects early session selling pressure across the index.

Market Movement at Open

The following table summarizes the Dow Jones movement recorded at the time of the market open:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average registered a decline of 216.38 points, equivalent to a 0.42% drop, settling at 51,704.24 after the market opened. This movement captures the index's position in early trading activity.