Wall Street's main indexes closed lower on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST), led by a sell-off in semiconductor and technology stocks as renewed uncertainty over the Middle East pushed bond yields higher and heightened concerns about borrowing costs and inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 116.4 points, or 0.2%, to 53,343.4. The S&P 500 declined 53.3 points, or 0.7%, to 7,691.8, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 355.2 points, or 1.3%, to 26,289.7.
Fading hopes for a resolution to tensions in the Middle East pushed oil prices higher, contributing to a rise in United States Treasury yields.
The 30-year Treasury yield climbed to its highest level since 2007, while the 10-year yield touched its highest level since January 2025.
Information technology was the worst-performing of the S&P 500's 11 major sectors. Nvidia fell 2.3%, AMD declined 4.3%, Meta Platforms lost 4.5%, and Applied Materials dropped 3.9%.
Data-storage companies were also among the hardest hit, with Sandisk falling 9.0% and Western Digital declining 7.4%.
Among companies reporting results, Home Depot eased 0.1% despite beating second-quarter sales estimates.
Investors are now awaiting results from other major retailers later this week, including Walmart.
Markets will also focus on the minutes from the Federal Reserve's July meeting, due on Wednesday (Thursday AEST), which could provide further clues about policymakers' assessment of inflation, interest rates and the broader economic outlook.
On the bond markets, 10-year and two-year Treasury yields were down 0.4% and 0.1%, respectively, at 4.708% and 4.177%.
