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The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a lower open on Wednesday, with stocks likely to extend the downward move seen over the two previous sessions.<\/p>\n
A continued surge by the price of crude oil is likely to weigh on Wall Street, as the international benchmark brent crude futures top $100 a barrel for the first time since July.<\/p>\n
U.S. crude oil futures are also surging by 3 percent as U.S. forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted a U.S. Navy warship with ballistic missiles.<\/p>\n
U.S. Central Command said Iran has used the tankers as part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies.<\/p>\n
Iran retaliated by launching a barrage of missiles targeting U.S. military positions in Jordan, raising fears of a wider regional conflict.<\/p>\n
The sharp increase in crude oil prices has led to renewed concerns about the outlook for inflation ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting next week.<\/p>\n
“Brent crude pushing above $100 a barrel has had a psychological effect on the market, pushing a hypothetical inflation worry gauge to ‘serious’ status and dragging down financial assets,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets<\/span> at AJ Bell.<\/p>\n “The oil price has now jumped by 28% since early August,” he added. “This type of ascent could leave businesses and consumers feeling sick at the thought of sharp cost increases and potentially higher borrowing costs if central banks choose to fight inflation with interest rate hikes.”<\/p>\n With trading resuming following the long Labor Day weekend, stocks moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday. The major averages all moved to the downside, with the Dow showing a particularly steep decline.<\/p>\n The Dow slumped 628.18 points or 1.2 percent to 52,786.07, the S&P 500 fell 45.08 points or 0.6 percent to 7,673.52 and the Nasdaq dipped 85.58 points or 0.3 percent to 26,421.41.<\/p>\n The weakness on Wall Street came amid a sharp increase by the price of crude oil due to the continued escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.<\/p>\n U.S. crude oil futures surged by nearly 2 percent after the U.S. struck three Iranian crude oil carriers over the weekend after Iran launched ballistic missiles toward two U.S. Navy warships patrolling regional waters.<\/p>\n Iran has threatened to retaliate against any new U.S. attacks on its assets and Saudi-led coalition forces vowed a resolute response to a wave of attacks from Houthi rebels.<\/p>\n Amid escalating tensions with the U.S., Teheran said a deal with Oman to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was imminent.<\/p>\n A steep drop by shares of Amgen (AMGN) weighed on the Dow, with the biopharmaceutical company plunging by more than 10 percent.<\/p>\n The nosedive by Amgen came after Novartis (NVS) reported disappointing results from a late-stage clinical trial of a rival cholesterol drug.<\/p>\n However, overall trading activity remained somewhat subdued ahead of the release of the key U.S. inflation data later in the week.<\/p>\n The reports on consumer and producer price inflation could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve’s next monetary policy meeting later this month.<\/p>\n Pharmaceutical stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index down by 3.2 percent.<\/p>\n An increase by treasury yields also weighed on interest rate-sensitive housing stock, as reflected by the 2.8 percent slump by the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index.<\/p>\n Healthcare, airline and biotechnology stocks also saw significant weakness, while networking, oil and semiconductor stocks showed strong moves to the upside.<\/p>\n Commodity, Currency Markets<\/b> <\/p>\n Crude oil futures are surging $2.86 to $95.89 a barrel after jumping $1.55 to $93.03 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $4,440.10, up $1.10 compared to the previous session’s close of $4,439. On Tuesday, gold slid $37.60.<\/p>\n On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 153.32 yen compared to the 153.96 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1647 compared to yesterday’s $1.1623.<\/p>\n Asia<\/b><\/p>\n Asian stocks ended mixed on Wednesday as tensions escalated in the Middle East following another round of strikes on energy infrastructure.<\/p>\n That said, tech stocks extended recent gains as OpenAI’s launch of its latest model, GPT-6 Astra, boosted investor optimism about AI growth prospects.<\/p>\n The U.S. dollar extended losses for a third straight session ahead of U.S. inflation data due later in the week, which could offer additional clues on the Federal Reserve’s rate trajectory.<\/p>\n Gold rose more than 1 percent to $4,409 an ounce after falling for three straight sessions. Brent crude prices rose toward $100 a barrel as renewed tensions in the Gulf region raised concerns about further disruptions to global oil supplies.<\/p>\n Iran has launched a barrage of missiles targeting U.S. military positions in Jordan and warned all tanker crews in Bahraini and Kuwaiti to “immediately abandon their vessels,” whether at anchor or at berth in ports, after the U.S. destroyed five Iranian tankers in the Gulf of Oman and near Kharg Island, a major crude export hub.<\/p>\n A U.S. official said the strikes came in response to alleged attempts by Iran to target a U.S. warship with ballistic missiles twice over two days.<\/p>\n China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.3 percent to 3,951.51 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dipped 0.2 percent to 25,274.96 as August inflation data highlighted an uneven recovery.<\/p>\n Data showed earlier in the day that Chinese consumer inflation accelerated for the first time since April in August and factory-gage prices grew faster than expected, driven largely by higher commodity and food prices.<\/p>\n Japanese markets fluctuated before ending slightly lower, with rising oil prices and caution ahead of U.S. CPI inflation report weighing on sentiment.<\/p>\n The Nikkei 225 Index slipped 0.2 percent to 65,142.78 on concerns over inflation and supply chain disruptions. The broader Topix Index finished marginally lower at 4,046.64.<\/p>\n Tech stocks ended mixed, with Kioxia falling 0.7 percent and Advantest tumbling 2.8 percent while SoftBank Group shares advanced 3.9 percent.<\/p>\n The yen held near a seven-month high after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent challenged traders to counter his efforts to strengthen Japan’s currency.<\/p>\n Seoul stocks ended sharply higher, with chip stocks leading the rally after the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 1.3 percent overnight.<\/p>\n The Kospi Index jumped 1.4 percent to 7,051.64, with SK Hynix surging 3.5 percent on continued optimism over artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n Battery maker LG Energy Solution jumped 6.5 percent and its smaller rival Samsung SDI soared 8.3 percent after the Trump administration criticized Ford Motor over its ties with Chinese companies, raising hopes that Korean electric vehicle battery makers could benefit.<\/p>\n Australian markets swung between gains and losses before closing modestly lower, dragged down by banks, retailers and health<\/span> care stocks.<\/p>\n The benchmark S&P\/ASX 200 Index edged down 0.1 percent to 8,911.40, hitting a six-week low on concerns over oil-driven inflation. The broader All Ordinaries Index ended 0.1 percent lower at 9,102.90.<\/p>\n Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P\/NZX-50 Index rose 0.2 percent to 13,819.43, snapping a two-session losing streak.<\/p>\n Europe<\/b><\/p>\n European stocks have moved sharply lower on Wednesday after U.S. forces destroyed five Iranian tankers and Tehran responded with missile strikes on Jordan, raising fears of a wider regional conflict.<\/p>\n Traders also looked ahead to Thursday’s European Central Bank meeting, with a 25-basis points rate hike fully priced in.<\/p>\n While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 1.9 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 1.7 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 1.1 percent.<\/p>\n Energy giants BP Plc, Shell and TotalEnergies have risen as Brent crude prices jumped above $100 a barrel amid renewed tensions in the Gulf region and concerns about further disruptions to global oil supplies.<\/p>\n Swiss building materials supplier Holcim has fallen after investing in Cloud Cycle, a U.K.-based startup that turns ready-mix concrete operations into a real-time data-driven system.<\/p>\n Zara owner Inditex has also shown a notable move to the downside after reporting weaker-than-expected second-quarter earnings.<\/p>\n France’s Vallourec, a provider of tubular solutions for the oil and gas industry, has also dropped despite signing an agreement with Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco for the supply of Oil Country Tubular Goods pipes.<\/p>\n Victrex, a British-based supplier of high-performance polymers, has soared after lifting its full-year pre-tax profit guidance and appointing an interim CFO.<\/p>\n Energean, an international hydrocarbon exploration and production company, has also rallied as it posted a 45 percent jump in first-half profit.<\/p>\n Wealth and investment firm Aberdeen has jumped after naming insurance veteran Torbjorn Magnusson as its new chair.<\/p>\n U.S. Economic News<\/b><\/p>\n The Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the results of this month’s auction of $39 billion worth of ten-year notes at 1 pm ET. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n