Trade was choppy for much of the session as investors were caught in a tug-of-war over oil supply concerns. Iran continued to attack ships in the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, but OPEC assured markets that Saudi Arabia had ramped up production and the International Energy Agency (IEA) agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from its strategic reserves.
The Dow logged the steepest percentage drop among the three major U.S. equity indexes, while chip manufacturers lifted the tech-heavy Nasdaq to a marginal, late-session gain.
The Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) indicated that inflation remained moderate last month, matching analyst expectations.
Annual CPI growth is now within half a percentage point of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Still, markets shrugged off the report, as it predated the war on Iran, which has sent crude prices soaring and could stoke inflation. Inflation jitters mounted after Iran’s military command said the world should prepare for crude prices to hit $200 per barrel, more than double their current level.
“In such an uncertain environment, the markets and investors are kind of starving for any signal, in one direction or another,” said Matthew Keator, managing partner in the Keator Group, a wealth management firm in Lenox, Massachusetts. “There have been these false or inaccurate reports, and the markets are swinging on that type of news.” “It’s all about the consumer, and how the shock of a sustained increase in oil prices is going to affect the consumer’s pocketbook and their spending habits,” Keator added. The Fed is widely expected to let its key interest rate stand at its upcoming policy meeting, during which policymakers are likely to weigh the possibility of spiking prices against signs of a softening jobs market, a combination that raises concerns over potential stagflation.
“I think the word ‘transitory’ may come back,” said Chuck Carlson, chief executive officer at Horizon Investment Services in Hammond, Indiana. “I think they’re probably more concerned about jobs than they are about inflation right now, the spike in oil notwithstanding.”
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 289.24 points, or 0.61%, to 47,417.27, the S&P 500 lost 5.68 points, or 0.08%, to 6,775.80 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 19.03 points, or 0.08%, to 22,716.14. Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, consumer staples notched the largest percentage decline, while energy was the clear outperformer, rising 2.5% on rising crude prices.
Front-month WTI and Brent crude futures settled up 4.6% and 4.8%, respectively. Tech was also marginally higher, with a boost from Oracle, which provided better-than-anticipated revenue guidance on expectations that the artificial intelligence-related spending boom will extend through 2027. Its shares jumped 9.2%. JPMorgan Chase marked down the value of certain loans held by private-credit groups and is tightening its lending to the sector, a report said. Ares Management slid 4.8% and Apollo Global fell 1.9%. Campbell’s tumbled 7.1% after the packaged food company cut its annual forecasts and warned of increasing pressure in the second half from revised U.S. tariffs. Defense company AeroVironment dropped 6.3% after forecasting 2026 adjusted profit below estimates.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.84-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 71 new highs and 121 new lows on the NYSE.
On the Nasdaq, 1,960 stocks rose and 2,696 fell as declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.38-to-1 ratio.
The S&P 500 posted 2 new 52-week highs and 13 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 44 new highs and 112 new lows.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was 17.79 billion shares, compared with the 20.09 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.
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