(RTTNews) – After moving sharply lower early in the session, stocks regained ground over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. The major averages climbed well off their lows of the session, with the Nasdaq reaching positive territory.
The Dow slumped 576.76 points or 1.1 percent to 52,348.39, pulling back further off their record closing high set on Monday. The S&P 500 also fell 21.14 points or 0.3 percent to 7,482.71, but the Nasdaq rose 51.96 points or 0.2 percent to 25,870.65.
The early weakness on Wall Street came amid concerns about a re-escalation of the conflict in the Middle East after President Donald Trump declared the U.S.-Iran ceasefire “over.”
“As far as I’m concerned, it’s over,” Trump told reporters at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, calling negotiations with Iran a “waste of time.”
The president later said that the U.S. will “very probably” attack Iran “hard again tonight.”
Trump’s comments have contributed to a surge by the price of crude oil, with U.S. crude oil futures spiking by more than 5 percent. The jump in prices led to renewed concerns about the outlook for inflation and interest rates.
However, stocks regained ground over the course of the session as crude oil prices pullback off their highs of the session.
Trump’s remarks came after U.S. Central Command said it completed a new round of offensive strikes against Iran, hitting over 80 targets in response to Iran’s latest attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed they targeted U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait hours after the U.S. strikes.
Sector News
Housing stocks moved sharply lower amid concerns about the outlook for interest rates, dragging the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index down by 3.8 percent.
Substantial weakness was also visible among gold stocks, which tumbled along with the price of the precious metal. Reflecting the weakness in the sector, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index plunged by 3.6 percent to its lowest closing level in over seven months.
Airline, banking and commercial real estate stocks also saw significant weakness, while energy stocks rallied amid the surge by the price of crude oil.
Computer hardware and semiconductor stocks also turned in strong performances on the day, contributing to the recovery by the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled by 2.1 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.5 percent.
The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.’s FSE 100 Index slumped by 1.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index both plunged by 2.2 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries extended the notable downward move seen in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, climbed 4.0 basis points to 4.569 percent.
