U.S. Stocks Moving Mostly Lower As U.S., Iran Exchange Attacks

(RTTNews) - After showing a lack of direction early in the session, stocks have moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Wednesday. The major averages have all moved to the downside, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 adding to the losses posted in the previous session.

Currently, the major averages are off their worst levels of the day but still firmly negative. The Dow is down 482.34 points or 1 percent at 50,389.77, the Nasdaq is down 252.17 points or 1 percent at 25,426.66 and the S&P 500 is down 49.89 points or 0.7 percent at 7,336.76.

The weakness on Wall Street partly reflects concerns about a re-escalation of the conflict in the Middle East following the latest exchange of attacks between the U.S. and Iran.

U.S. Central Command said forces completed "self-defense strikes" against Iran on Tuesday at President Donald Trump's direction in response to the downing of a U.S. helicopter.

CENTCOM said forces struck Iranian air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz with precision munitions from U.S. Air Force and Navy fighter jets.

In retaliation, Iran reportedly attacked U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan and vowed it would leave no attack or threat unanswered.

Trump said in a subsequent post on Truth Social this morning that Iran has "taken too long to negotiate a deal" and will now have to "pay the price!"

On the inflation front, the Labor Department released a report showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of May.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index rose by 0.5 percent in May after climbing by 0.6 percent in April. The price growth matched expectations.

The annual rate of consumer price growth accelerated to 4.2 percent in May from 3.8 percent in April, which was also in line with estimates.

The report also said core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, crept up by 0.2 percent in May after rising by 0.4 percent in April. Economists had expected core prices to increase by 0.3 percent.

The annual rate of core consumer price growth inched up to 2.9 percent in May from 2.8 percent in April, which matched expectations.

Sector News

Gold stocks have moved sharply lower amid a steep drop by the price of the precious metal, dragging the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index down by 3.6 percent.

The surge by the price of crude oil is also weighing on airline stocks, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index plunging by 3.2 percent.

Computer hardware, semiconductor and housing stocks are also seeing considerable weakness, while energy stocks are showing strong moves to the upside.

Other Markets

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.9 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index declined by 0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.2 percent and the German DAX Index is down by 0.7 percent.

In the bond market, treasuries have shown a lack of direction over the course of the session. Currently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is down by less than a basis point at 4.524 percent.