A broadcast of US President Donald Trump is shown on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. [Getty Images]
A broadcast of US President Donald Trump is shown on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. [Getty Images]

Wall Street closed lower across the board Tuesday as renewed US airstrikes against Iran reignited geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Anxiety over the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil prices and Treasury yields higher, while a sharp selloff in semiconductor stocks dragged the tech-heavy Nasdaq down more than 1%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 130.76 points, or 0.25%, to close at 52,925.15 on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The S&P 500 dropped 33.58 points, or 0.45%, to 7,503.85, and the Nasdaq composite lost 302.47 points, or 1.16%, to finish at 25,818.69.

The biggest drag on markets was geopolitical risk from the Middle East. The resumption of US airstrikes on Iran, combined with reports of attacks on three vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, sent international oil prices surging around 3%.

August-delivery West Texas Intermediate crude settled at $70.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up $1.89, or 2.76%, from the previous session. September-delivery Brent crude on the London ICE Futures Exchange rose $2.17, or 3.01%, to $74.16 a barrel. Oil extended its gains in after-hours trading after reports emerged that the US government would end sanction waivers on Iranian crude exports.

The oil surge rekindled inflation concerns. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note — which moves inversely to bond prices — climbed 7 basis points to 4.54%, while the 30-year yield topped 5%. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the greenback against six major currencies, edged up 0.22% to close at 101.078. Spot gold fell 1.4% to $4,108.70 per troy ounce.

Weakness in semiconductor stocks added to the broader declines. Following sharp losses in Samsung Electronics and SK hynix on the domestic market Tuesday, US chip stocks fell in tandem. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) tumbled 4.65%. Intel dropped 9.66% and Micron fell 4.71%, while KLA (-7.22%), Marvell Technology (-7.45%) and AMD (-6.51%) also posted steep losses. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) declined 3.78%.

Performance among major technology stocks was mixed. Tesla fell 4.02% and Apple lost 0.64%. SpaceX, which joined the Nasdaq 100 that day, dropped 6.83%. Microsoft gained 0.54%, Meta rose 2.55%, Alphabet edged up 0.16% and Palantir added 1.38%.

Market attention is now shifting to second-quarter earnings season, which kicks off next week with major US banks before moving to big technology companies. The central question is whether semiconductor stocks — which have surged on expectations of expanded AI investment — can meet the market's high bar not only on earnings but also on capital expenditure plans and demand outlooks.

Mike Wilson of Morgan Stanley said momentum in semiconductor stocks, which had rallied sharply, is fading, with capital rotating toward large-scale cloud providers, or hyperscalers, that have lagged this year.

"This divergence is not sustainable," Wilson said. Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi, chief investment officer of UBS Global Wealth Management, also advised portfolio diversification, saying she remains confident in the AI growth story but expects the rally to broaden across the wider market rather than remain concentrated in specific sectors.


hajun825@heraldcorp.com