Stocks fell across the board on Tuesday as a jump in oil prices and stubbornly high Treasury yields put pressure on Wall Street in a holiday-shortened week. Renewed conflict in the Middle East pushed crude sharply higher, reviving worries about energy costs and inflation just as investors were already digesting last Friday’s stronger-than-expected jobs report. The Dow bore the brunt of the selling, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq held up comparatively well.
What Moved Markets
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 628.18 points, or 1.18 percent, to close at 52,786.07. The S&P 500 slipped 45.08 points, or 0.58 percent, to finish at 7,673.52. The Nasdaq Composite eased 85.58 points, or 0.32 percent, ending at 26,421.41.
Oil was the story of the day. Brent crude climbed toward $99 a barrel and U.S. crude traded above $90 after fresh strikes in the Middle East, including attacks on Gulf energy facilities, stoked fears that supply could be disrupted. Higher energy prices feed directly into inflation, and that kept pressure on bonds: the yield on the 10-year Treasury note hovered near 4.8 percent, close to multi-year highs. When yields climb, borrowing gets more expensive and richly valued stocks tend to look less attractive, which helps explain why rate-sensitive corners of the market struggled. Investors are also still weighing Friday’s jobs data, which showed hiring running well above forecasts and revived the debate over whether the Federal Reserve might need to keep policy tight.
Notable Movers
Salesforce (CRM) fell roughly 4 percent as higher interest rates weighed on the software group, where companies are valued heavily on future growth that is worth less when rates rise.
ServiceNow (NOW) dropped about 5 percent, one of the weakest performers among large-cap technology names on the day.
Intuit (INTU) declined around 4 percent, adding to the broad pullback across enterprise software shares.
Exxon Mobil (XOM) bucked the downtrend, rising close to 2 percent as the spike in crude prices lifted energy producers.
Chevron (CVX) gained roughly 1.7 percent, joining the rally in oil majors as investors rotated toward companies that benefit directly from higher energy prices.
Looking Ahead
The next few sessions carry more weight than Tuesday’s light calendar suggested. Investors will turn their attention to the August Consumer Price Index on Thursday and the Producer Price Index on Friday, two inflation readings that could shape expectations for the Fed’s next move. Treasury auctions later in the week will also test appetite for government debt at current yields. For now, the direction of oil prices and the situation in the Middle East remain the key variables, and any further escalation could keep both energy costs and market volatility elevated.