The sell-off for AI winners deepened and yanked stock markets lower worldwide. The S&P 500 fell 1% Friday to finish its first losing week in the last three and only its third since March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.4%. Nvidia was the heaviest weight on the market and briefly gave up its status as the most valuable stock on Wall Street. The worries about whether AI stocks have shot too high dragged down Asian markets even more sharply. Oil prices jumped again on worries about the war with Iran, but longer-term Treasury yields eased.
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Drops for computer chipmakers and other AI winners dragged down stock markets worldwide. The S&P 500 fell 0.5% Thursday, even though more stocks rose within the index than fell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite lost 1.5%. Wall Street mostly rose after more U.S companies reported better earnings for the latest quarter than analysts expected. But drops for Nvidia and other chip companies overshadowed them. The losses were sharper in South Korea, where AI winners whipped lower. Yields rose in the bond market, and oil prices erased an early gain to dip modestly.
AP Wire
The United States has intensified its strikes targeting Iran, hitting targets further north. American forces also fired into a ship it accused of trying to break its naval blockade on the Islamic Republic. Tehran retaliated early Thursday with missile and drone fire targeting Bahrain and Kuwait before dawn. Days of back-and-forth strikes by the U.S. and Iran across the Middle East — and renewed threats to the Strait of Hormuz — have shredded the interim deal to end the Iran war and the region could tip back into all-out war. Already, Iranian officials say U.S. strikes have killed at more than than 35 people and wounded over 300 others.
U.S. stocks ticked higher following strong profit reports from big companies. The S&P 500 added 0.4% Wednesday and pulled within 0.5% of its all-time high set last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.6%. BlackRock helped lead the market after becoming the latest financial company to report a bigger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Stocks got a lift from easing yields in the bond market after data showed U.S. inflation slowed at the wholesale level last month. Oil prices, though, rose toward their highest levels in a month.
Stocks rose after a report showed U.S. inflation was not as bad last month as economists expected. Tuesday's gains came even though oil prices continue to climb on worries that the United States and Iran may return to all-out war. The S&P 500 rose 0.4%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up by less than 0.1% and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.9%. Stocks got a lift from easing yields in the bond market, which fell following the better-than-expected inflation data. Chip stocks and other AI winners rebounded, while big U.S. banks reported strong profits. IBM kept indexes in check after falling sharply.
AP Wire
U.S. inflation cooled last month as the cost of gas, clothes, and used cars fell, providing some relief to consumers, while underlying price pressures also slowed more than expected. Excluding the food and energy categories, core prices were unchanged from May to June, a positive sign that higher gas prices haven't spread through the economy. Yet oil prices rose for a second day Tuesday as the United States renewed attacks on Iran and President Donald Trump announced a new blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. The increase threatens to undo at least some of the progress that occurred last month.
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh pledged to make high inflation “a thing of the past” in his first congressional testimony Tuesday, yet provided no signal about the central bank’s next steps. Yet about half of the 19 members of the Fed’s interest rate-setting committee expect they will have to raise the central bank’s key rate by the end of the year to defeat inflation, while nearly half have penciled in no change or even a rate cut. Warsh faces a stiff challenge in reconciling the divided committee while navigating a rapidly-changing economic outlook.
Inflation fell last month on lower gas prices, while underlying inflation also cooled.
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The U.S. has launched more strikes on Iran after President Donald Trump said Washington is “reinstating” a blockade on Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump separately suggested the United States will charge other ships for safe passage, upending hundreds of years of American policy supporting freedom of navigation across the globe. Iran responded with attacks targeting Bahrain, Jordan and two tankers associated with the United Arab Emirates traveling through the strait, killing one mariner and wounding eight others. The Emirates threatened to retaliate against Iran, potentially drawing the nation home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai back into fighting with Tehran. The attacks come as Iran and the U.S. both vie for control of the strait.
President Donald Trump is sharply reducing the size of two national monuments in Utah. The move to shrink Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments by about 90% unravels protections established by former presidents for areas with unique archaeological and historical features. It comes as Republicans under Trump have sought to drastically reshape the management of vast taxpayer-owned lands concentrated in Western states. Republicans have moved to expand oil and gas drilling, ramp up logging and remove habitat protections for imperiled species. The altered monuments had been designated under the Antiquities Act, a 1906 law meant to preserve important sites. Democrats and conservationists warn of the disposal of treasured landscapes for commercial gain.