War Fears Return, Wall Street Sinks as Chip Stocks Slide

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22:00 The losses on Wall Street are deepening ahead of the close, among other things because of President Trump's threats to carry out additional strikes in Iran. The Nasdaq is down about 1.8%, the S&P 500 is losing about 1.4% and the Dow Jones is weaker by about 1.5%. The SOXX ETF, which tracks semiconductor stocks, is now losing more than 3%, with notable decliners including Nvidia, Micron, Marvell, Broadcom, AMD and others. The XLK ETF, which tracks the technology sector on Wall Street, is down more than 1% and close to correction territory.

20:55 The losses on Wall Street continue. At this stage, the Nasdaq is down about 1.2%, the S&P 500 is down about 0.9% and the Dow Jones is losing about 1.3%. Despite the declines in the technology sector, the biggest drag on the S&P 500 is industrials, which are down about 2.9%. CNBC reported that shipping company stocks are under pressure today after Amazon said it is opening its trucking services to companies outside its network. Amazon said it will offer less-than-truckload shipping services to all businesses, not just those transporting goods to its warehouses and distribution centers, and will provide deliveries to any destination in the U.S. as part of its new supply chain services program. The term less-than-truckload refers to a service in which companies ship cargo from several customers on a single trailer, instead of a full truckload for one customer. Decliners include UPS, Old Dominion Freight Line, FedEx Freight Holdings and others. At the same time, amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran and rising oil prices, airline stocks are weakening, including Delta Air Lines, United Airlines Holdings and others.

19:55 The negative trend on Wall Street continues as tensions between the U.S. and Iran remain high. The Nasdaq is down about 1.3%, the S&P 500 is losing about 1% and the Dow Jones is weaker by about 1.2%. Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management, told CNBC that, "The war story with Iran is very significant. Investors may turn out to be right that there is nothing to worry about, that Trump will handle it, that we will get a deal with Iran and that the Strait will open, but if not, it feels like oil prices will have to rise, and a lot. In this investment environment, it is impossible to feel comfortable."

19:00 Trading on Wall Street continues to show losses. The Nasdaq is falling about 1%, the S&P 500 is down about 0.8% and the Dow Jones is losing about 1.1%. President Trump said moments ago in a conversation with reporters at the White House that, "We struck Iran hard yesterday and we will strike them hard today as well." Following Trump's remarks, gains in oil prices are strengthening, with prices climbing more than 2%. Brent crude is trading around $93 a barrel, while U.S. crude (WTI) is trading around $90 a barrel. In the commodities market as well, losses in gold are deepening and the precious metal is down more than 3% to $4,150 an ounce.

18:05 After much volatility in the opening hours of trading, losses on Wall Street are strengthening. The Nasdaq is down about 0.9%, the S&P 500 is losing about 0.6% and the Dow Jones is weaker by about 0.8%. Semiconductor stocks are weighing on trading, and the Magnificent Seven, Nvidia, Microsoft, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Meta, Tesla and Apple, are all trading in negative territory.

17:45 Trading on Wall Street continues to show losses, although trading remains highly volatile. At this stage, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 are down about 0.3%, while the Dow Jones is weaker by about 0.7%. Super Micro Computer is plunging by more than 10% in Wall Street trading after announcing a $7 billion capital raise. According to the company's official statement, the offerings will be part of Super Micro's plan "to finance the purchase of components in order to fulfill the AI orders the company received in recent weeks for its advanced AI servers." At this stage, it is erasing about $4 billion in market value, and its current valuation stands at about $20.5 billion. The company, which designs and manufactures server and storage systems, said it had received $39 billion in orders for its AI servers in recent weeks. According to a MarketWatch report, the company plans to issue $1.25 billion in new shares and $3.75 billion in depositary shares, representing a proportional stake in the convertible preferred shares the company recently issued. In addition, the company plans to use an at-the-market sales program to sell up to $2 billion in common stock, beginning in the third quarter of 2026. It should be noted that just last week, Alphabet (Google) announced a plan to raise a massive $80 billion to finance its expansion in AI, a move that rekindled concerns among some investors about the enormous capital expenditures of companies operating in the artificial intelligence arena.

17:00 Trading on Wall Street is currently modestly lower. The Nasdaq is down about 0.2%, the S&P 500 is losing about 0.2% and the Dow Jones is weaker by about 0.4%. Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide, commented on the consumer price index released earlier today and told MarketWatch that she believes it has peaked and will begin to decline from here, assuming the U.S. and Iran reach an agreement in the near term that will lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

16:30 Wall Street opens the day lower, amid growing tensions between the U.S. and Iran and the release of the May consumer price index, which showed an annual increase of 4.2%, the highest level in three years. The tech-heavy Nasdaq is falling about 0.7%, while the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones are both weakening by about 0.6%. The negative momentum in semiconductor stocks continues, with declines among prominent names such as Nvidia, Micron, AMD and Broadcom. After also weakening yesterday, the SOXX ETF, which tracks semiconductor stocks, is down about 1%. The market attributes the declines to several factors. Some analysts believe investors are making room in their portfolios for SpaceX's offering this Friday, which would be the largest initial public offering in history. Others believe this is profit-taking after the unprecedented rally in the semiconductor index in recent times, since even after the recent pressure on these stocks, the SOXX ETF is still up more than 80% since the beginning of the year. Martha Norton, chief investment strategist at Empower Investments, told CNBC, "If we are talking about the essence of what we have seen in recent weeks, it really centered on that same area of memories and chips that lifted the market. That was the real force behind everything, and it really rose so strongly that it feels very close to toppy right now. So does that mean there is some kind of deterioration in market fundamentals? I am not so sure about that, but it definitely looks like sentiment is tense and that we are getting some kind of correction."

15:55 Ronen Menachem, chief economist at Mizrahi Tefahot, commented on the U.S. consumer price index and noted that, "Today's inflation data is the highest in three years. However, the energy component, which jumped by almost 4% in May alone, contributed 60% to the increase in the overall index. In general, over the past 12 months, the fuels category rose by no less than 40%. Therefore, although inflation rose in the bottom line, this is not a broad-based increase, but rather an extraordinary effect of one component. This also explains the gap between the rise in the overall index and the rise in core inflation, which excludes energy and food. Incidentally, the food component rose only 0.2%, less than the rise in the overall index, and it remains to be seen whether the increase in fuel and production input costs will have later effects in the next data releases." Menachem added that, "The more encouraging news comes from housing, which rose 3.4% over the past 12 months, but this rate was lower than the rise in the overall index, including on a monthly basis, and there is generally a clear moderation in this component, the largest and most important in the entire index. The same is true of services, excluding energy. These are two service components, and their moderation makes inflation less sticky, which may indicate a cumulative effect of high interest rates in the U.S. economy. Another finding with a local flavor familiar to us is that airfare prices jumped 2.7% in May, and, as in many places around the world, they are pulling the overall index higher."

"In the bottom line, although the index matched expectations, it generally pointed to a high and broadening price environment, and together with Friday's strong employment report, which surprised to the upside and indicated strength in wages and employment, it will leave the Federal Reserve no choice but to keep interest rates unchanged, and perhaps also consider raising them later this year. The market currently assigns a 40% probability to a quarter-point rate hike in October," Menachem concluded.

15:30 In line with analysts' expectations, the U.S. consumer price index for May rose 0.5%, reflecting an annual inflation rate of 4.2%, a three-year high. Most of the inflationary increase came from a 3.9% jump in energy prices, amid the crisis in Hormuz. However, core inflation, which strips out volatile energy and food prices, rose 0.2% in May and reflected an annual rate of 2.9%. While the annual core inflation rate was in line with market forecasts, the monthly rate was below expectations, which stood at 0.3%. Ahead of the release, U.S. futures are currently down as much as 0.8%, which is more moderate than earlier in the day, when losses topped 1%.

14:12 Trading continues in negative territory, with investors around the world remaining alert and awaiting the release of U.S. May inflation data. According to forecasts, in about an hour the index is expected to jump to an annual rate of 4.2%, compared with 3.8% in April. In Europe, trading continues to show losses. The FTSE in London and the CAC in Paris are each down about 0.4%, while the DAX in Frankfurt is leading the negative trend with a sharper decline of about 1.2%. The negative sentiment from Europe is reaching U.S. futures more forcefully, led by the technology sector. Nasdaq futures are currently losing about 1.4%, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones futures are down about 0.9%. In the U.S. bond market, there is clear stability this morning, with yields trading almost unchanged. The 2-year yield is around 4.13%, the 10-year yield is about 4.53%, and the 30-year yield is trading at 5.02%. In digital currencies, bitcoin is also responding to the overall negative sentiment and is down about 1.6%. Oil prices of all types are up about 1%. Gold, by contrast, is posting a sharp decline of about 2.4%, with an ounce trading around $4,185.

12:04 After opening slightly higher this morning, and despite the impression that there was some indifference on the continent to the declines around the world, the stock exchanges in London, Paris and Frankfurt have now turned lower by about 0.2%.

10:25 European trading opened this morning with slight gains, and it seems there is some indifference on the continent to the declines around the world. The stock exchanges in London, Paris and Frankfurt are now up about 0.2%. Semiconductor and technology shares in Asia resumed their declines this morning, following overnight losses on Wall Street, after a brief recovery in chipmakers lost momentum amid continuing concerns about AI-related overvaluation. Japan's SoftBank Group plunged 10% amid a broader decline in technology shares, after efforts to secure at least $6 billion through a margin loan backed by its holdings in OpenAI ran into difficulties, according to a Bloomberg report. The Japanese technology investment giant is exploring alternative financing options, although it may revisit the loan later. Japanese chip equipment makers Advantest and Renesas Electronics fell 3.8% and 3.4%, respectively. In South Korea, memory chip giant SK Hynix plunged by more than 8%, while Samsung Electronics fell 7.45%. Battery maker Samsung SDI fell by more than 5%, while display panel maker LG Display dropped by nearly 9%.

08:34 Attention is focused on the inflation data to be released over the next two days, the consumer price index (CPI) and the producer price index (PPI). U.S. inflation is expected to cross the 4% threshold for the first time in three years, and this development could affect the economy and markets for the rest of the year. In the bond market, the 10-year yield stands at 4.53%. The 2-year yield, which is considered more sensitive to short-term interest rate changes, fell by three basis points to 4.13%. But yields remain high, with the U.S. bond market sending a clear message to the new Fed chairman, Kevin Warsh, that rates are still not high enough. The clearest sign of this is the 2-year government bond yield, which is considered the most sensitive to rate expectations. The yield has jumped to a more than one-year high, while the Fed's official target range is currently 3.5% to 3.75%. In other words, the bond market is already pricing in higher rates than currently exist. The move gained momentum especially after Friday's stronger-than-expected employment report, which showed that the U.S. labor market remains firm despite high interest rates. Following the data, traders began pricing in a quarter-point rate hike as early as October. Investors' main concern is twofold: high energy prices due to the war with Iran could revive inflationary pressures. The AI investment boom could overheat the economy and increase demand. As a result, market expectations are rising that the Fed will have to tighten monetary policy again to prevent overheating. The situation creates a challenge for Warsh. Before taking office, he hinted more than once that monetary policy was already restraining economic activity and that there was room for easing in the future. Now he faces a bond market signaling exactly the opposite, that the Fed may be "behind the curve" in fighting inflation. Attention is now focused on today's inflation data.

08:17 Wholesale inflation in Japan (PPI) accelerated in May at the sharpest pace in three years, after inflationary pressures stemming from the war in the Middle East spread to additional sectors of the economy, according to data released this morning. The data reinforces expectations that the Bank of Japan will continue to raise interest rates. The Bank of Japan is due to meet next week, and markets are expecting it to deliver its first rate hike since December, in an effort to tackle rising inflationary pressures stemming from the weakening yen and the surge in energy prices caused by the war.

06:14 U.S. stock index futures are posting slight declines this morning, after the U.S. launched self-defense strikes against Iran in response to the downing of the helicopter last night. Nasdaq futures are down 0.4%, the S&P 500 is down 0.2% and Dow Jones futures are down about 0.1%. Asian markets opened the morning in negative territory, with South Korea's Kospi leading the declines, falling more than 3%. The Nikkei and Hang Seng are each down more than 1%, and the Shenzhen index is dropping 1.9%. Oil prices are posting moderate gains following the strike: Brent futures are up about 0.8% and trading around $92 a barrel, while U.S. crude is trading around $88.9 a barrel, also up about 0.8%. Tensions in the Middle East rose again last night, after U.S. forces carried out strikes against Iran "in response to the downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter yesterday," the U.S. Central Command said. President Donald Trump had earlier accused Iran of downing the helicopter, which he said was conducting reconnaissance over the Strait of Hormuz.