As the United States and Iran continue cease-fire talks, the three major U.S. stock indexes ended mixed. Stocks, which opened higher on hopes for a deal, gave up gains as fears of an expanded conflict spread.
On the 30th (U.S. Eastern time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 49.50 points, or 0.11%, to close at 45,216.14. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 fell 25.13 points, or 0.39%, to 6,343.72, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite lost 153.72 points, or 0.73%, to 20,794.64.
White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said, "Talks between the United States and Iran are going well," but emphasized, "If Iran misses this opportunity, it will pay a severe price." President Donald Trump also said there had been significant progress in the cease-fire talks.
However, with hundreds of Navy and Army special operations forces being deployed to the Middle East in preparation for a breakdown in talks, fears of an expanded war are mounting.
In response, market participants are suppressing anxiety with short-term trades, such as closing positions before the weekend and buying again on Monday.
Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell noted, "Energy price shocks occur quickly, while monetary policy has long and variable lags," but emphasized, "If supply shocks repeat, higher inflation could occur," and expectations were strong that the Fed would not raise rates this year.
By sector, industrials fell 1.61% and technology dropped 1.49%, while financials rose 1.1%.
In particular, the Philadelphia semiconductor index, composed of artificial intelligence (AI) and chip-related stocks, plunged 4.23% on expectations that a prolonged Middle East war would disrupt chip production, with all 30 components falling.
Micron Technology tumbled 10%, while TSMC, Intel, ASML, and AMD also fell around 3%.