The stock market had a relatively busy day today, with a significant wave of earnings reports, continued geopolitical volatility, and a smattering of corporate headlines from some of the market's largest companies giving investors plenty to assess. The market is also likely still digesting the scope of its recent push into record territory.

The S&P 500 (-0.6%), Nasdaq Composite (-0.6%), and DJIA (-0.6%) spent the first two hours or so of the session with solid gains before retreating as oil prices spiked amid reports that Iran may not send delegates to Pakistan for the next round of negotiations with the U.S. The 10-day ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran is set to expire tomorrow, adding a heightened sense of uncertainty to the situation as President Trump has threatened renewed strikes against Iran if a deal is not struck. The market moved to session lows in the final hour of trading after CNBC reported that Iran will not attend talks in Pakistan unless the U.S. "abandons its threats," and The Associated Press reported Vice President JD Vance called off his trip to Pakistan, where he was set to lead the U.S. side of negotiations.

Crude oil futures settled today's session $2.40 higher (+2.7%) at $91.80 per barrel, with the bump giving investors pause after the recent rally to record highs signaled that markets may have largely looked past the conflict or already priced in a path toward de-escalation.

Participation was weak in the broader market, with only the energy sector (+1.3%) finishing in positive territory. The sector was supported by the increase in oil prices and a nice move from Halliburton (HAL 38.15, +1.47, +4.01%) after the company beat earnings expectations.

The top-weighted information technology sector (-0.2%) was a relative outperformer, though it could not maintain its modest gain in the final hour of the session. Software names posted another winning session, with Microsoft (MSFT 424.16, +6.09, +1.46%) a mega-cap standout amid a weak showing for the market's largest names, and the iShares GS Software ETF advancing 0.5%.

Those gains were largely offset by weakness in Apple (AAPL 266.17, -6.88, -2.52%) after the company announced CEO Tim Cook will step down, with John Ternus set to take his place on September 1. NVIDIA (NVDA 199.88, -2.18, -1.08%) also charted a lower course.

The consumer discretionary sector (-0.5%) also moved into negative territory late in the session. Amazon (AMZN 249.91, +1.63, +0.66%) notched a modest gain after announcing an expanded partnership with Anthropic, highlighted by a potential $25 billion incremental investment and a commitment from Anthropic to spend over $100 billion on AWS over the next decade.

Elsewhere in the sector, homebuilders moved higher after D.R. Horton (DHI 162.20, +8.86, +5.78%) turned in a solid earnings report, while Tractor Supply (TSCO 39.57, -5.24, -11.69%) was the worst-performing S&P 500 component after missing earnings estimates.

Earnings were a key driver of price action in the broader market, with most of today's batch easily topping estimates. Northern Trust (NTRS 171.74, +12.75, +8.02%) was the best-performing S&P 500 component, while UnitedHealth (UNH 346.01, +22.53, +6.96%) was the top Dow component.

However, several notable names beat estimates but issued softer guidance, resulting in sharp retreats today. Northrop Grumman (NOC 611.13, -45.85, -6.98%) and GE Aerospace (GE 286.73, -16.87, -5.56%) were examples of this trend, which weighed heavily on the industrials sector (-1.4%).

Elsewhere, the real estate sector (-1.9%) faced the widest loss as treasury yields moved higher today.

Outside of the S&P 500, the smaller-cap Russell 2000 (-1.2%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (-0.6%) followed a similar trajectory to the major averages.

All told, today's session underscored the challenges the market faces as it attempts to push deeper into record territory. While investors have largely looked past the U.S.-Iran conflict, it remains a potential source of volatility through its impact on oil prices and broader risk sentiment. More importantly, elevated energy costs could begin to pressure margins as earnings season comes into focus, making guidance critical in determining whether current growth expectations can hold.