Stock Market Indices Fall Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
The US stock market indices fell on Thursday as escalating Middle East tensions pushed oil prices higher and producer prices came in hot.
Odds of a rate hike in September crossed 70%, according to the CME FedWatch tool, following recent comments from central bank officials that a policy pause was previously anticipated but persistent price pressures may compel policymakers to resume monetary tightening sooner than expected.
The S&P 500 ended Thursday 0.6% lower, while the Nasdaq 100 fell 1.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%. The Russell 2000, which tracks stocks with small market capitalizations, rose about 0.5%,
The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) fell 2.3%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) dropped 2.7%, amid weakness in Micron Tech (MU), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Broadcom (AVGO) and Nvidia (NVDA).