Wall Street was largely muted on Thursday, as lackluster earnings from Tesla and IBM cast a shadow over risk appetite, while investors kept a close eye on simmering U.S.-China trade tensions. Tesla's third-quarter profit missed expectations,

The strongest action was in the oil market, where the price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude climbed 4.9% to $61.35. The move came after Trump announced sanctions against Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil, in hopes of convincing Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, to end the brutal war with Ukraine.

Tesla reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter numbers. Now Wall Street is weighing in. Wednesday evening, Tesla reported an operating profit of about $1.6 billion, down 40% year over year. Wall Street was looking for closer to $1.

The EV maker's shares have been hot lately, adding nearly a third of their value this month alone through Friday's close. The Street's mean price target, however, is substantially lower, according to Visible Alpha data,

The sales were boosted by customers rushing to take advantage of a $7,500 federal tax credit for those EV purchases before it expired.

Tesla stock slid after Q3 earnings missed profit estimates despite record revenue, as analysts split on rebound prospects.

(Reuters) -Futures tracking Wall Street's main indexes paused on Thursday as lackluster quarterly updates from Tesla and IBM weighed on sentiment, while simmering U.S.-China trade tensions kept investors on the edge.

Wall Street stocks advanced toward record highs Thursday as oil prices surged roughly 5.5% following President Trump's 'massive' new sanctions on Russian crude.