(Sharecast News) - Major indices opened lower on Wednesday as renewed Middle East tensions and a jump in oil prices weighed on sentiment after Donald Trump declared the ceasefire with Iran "over" at the NATO summit in Turkey.
As of 1515 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.02% at 52,386.32, while the S&P 500 shed 0.58% to 7,460.69 and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 0.42% at 25,708.98.
The Dow opened 538.83 points lower on Wednesday, extending losses (130.76) recorded in the previous session.
US Central Command said late on Tuesday that American forces had launched a "series of powerful strikes" against Iran in response to alleged attacks on three commercial vessels travelling through the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier, the Treasury revoked a licence that had allowed Iran to sell oil globally following the incidents.
Iran's foreign ministry condemned the strikes as a "gross violation" of last month's memorandum aimed at ending hostilities, stating its armed forces would not hesitate to defend the country's sovereignty.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte backed the US response, telling reporters in Ankara that the strikes were "absolutely necessary" given Iran's actions. "When you have a ceasefire and Iran is basically violating the ceasefire - we see what happened yesterday with ships being attacked - I think it is totally crucial that the US forcefully reacts," he said.
Oil prices surged on the news, with international benchmark Brent crude futures up 5.37% at $78.14 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate rising 4.97% to $73.94 a barrel.
Market participants will also be zeroed-in on minutes from the Federal Reserve Open Markets Committee's latest policy meeting, scheduled for release at 1900 BST, with the minutes expected to provide further insight into chairman Kevin Warsh's first meeting, where policymakers kept interest rates unchanged and indicated that additional interest rate hikes may be warranted if inflationary pressures persist.
Elsewhere on the macro front, US mortgage applications fell by 2.2% on the week ended 3 July, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Last week's modest decline came amid relative stability in benchmark mortgage rates, with the 30-year fixed rate rising just a single basis point to 6.58%, despite an increase in longer-term Treasury yields during the week. Applications to refinance a mortgage, which are more sensitive to week-to-week changes in interest rates, fell by 4.1%, while applications to purchase a home inched down by 0.6%.
On another note, US wholesale inventories edged higher in May, according to revised Census Bureau data, offering a fresh read on stock levels across the sector. Total merchantwholesaler inventories rose 0.1% on the month to $941.8bn, after seasonal adjustment, following a revised 0.1% gain in April. On an annualised basis, inventories were 4% higher than a year earlier. The ApriltoMay change was revised down from the advance estimate of a 0.3% increase.
Still to come, May consumer credit change numbers will be released at 2000 BST.
In the corporate space, iconic jeansmaker Levi Strauss was slated to report earnings after the close of trading.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Dow Jones - Risers
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $29.41 2.72%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $176.18 1.06%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $949.20 1.06%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $84.03 0.27%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $42.95 0.07%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $428.59 0.06%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $0.00 0.00%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $0.00 0.00%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $96.98 -0.28%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $109.52 -3.80%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $334.15 -2.70%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $165.65 -2.61%
American Express Co. (AXP) $341.22 -2.49%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $300.06 -2.44%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $383.45 -2.28%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $126.15 -2.06%
3M Co. (MMM) $155.06 -1.90%
Visa Inc. (V) $347.02 -1.73%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $42.52 -1.70%
S&P 500 - Risers
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $573.98 4.75%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $385.45 4.44%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $336.59 3.79%
Apache Corp. (APA) $34.60 3.69%
Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP) $32.96 3.36%
Centene Corp. (CNC) $68.39 3.34%
HF Sinclair Corporation (DINO) $76.65 3.33%
Arista Networks Inc. (ANET) $173.54 3.28%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $299.40 3.25%
Target Corp. (TGT) $131.66 3.14%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Coterra Energy Inc. (CTRA) $32.56 -8.62%
Bath & Body Works, Inc. (BBWI) $19.24 -6.67%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $175.44 -6.35%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $258.19 -5.97%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $16.58 -5.59%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $57.84 -5.39%
United Airlines Holdings Inc (UAL) $124.63 -5.35%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $178.55 -5.35%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $417.49 -5.30%
TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $13.35 -5.20%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $573.98 4.75%
Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) $385.45 4.44%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $336.59 3.79%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $299.40 3.25%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $560.84 3.12%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $117.91 3.02%
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) $197.52 2.79%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $956.77 2.59%
NetEase Inc. Ads (NTES) $134.99 2.43%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $852.24 2.22%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $0.34 -13.49%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $175.44 -6.35%
Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $258.19 -5.97%
American Airlines Group (AAL) $16.58 -5.59%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $57.84 -5.39%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $178.55 -5.35%
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) $417.49 -5.30%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $394.60 -5.03%
Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) $25.96 -4.04%
Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $138.71 -3.83%
176.84 (1.66%)
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