The three major indexes on Wall Street opened lower on caution ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) outcome and on the surge in global oil prices.
As of 9:33 a.m. on the 29th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 406.68 points, or 0.77%, to 52,340.64. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 fell 11.78 points, or 0.16%, to 7,417.00, and the Nasdaq composite fell 48.92 points, or 0.20%, to 24,828.00.
Investor sentiment weakened as oil prices jumped amid rising tensions in the Middle East. A day after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attacked a U.S. military base in Jordan, U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iran, saying, "We will crush them very hard."
With fighting continuing across parts of the Middle East and Trump's hard-line remarks, international oil prices rebounded sharply.
Market participants are also watching the FOMC outcome scheduled for today. Although oil prices have risen steeply recently, the market expects the Federal Reserve (Fed) to hold its benchmark rate at this meeting.
Michael McGowan of Pastone, chief investment strategist, said, "Given the continued volatility in oil prices and the risk of inflation expectations drifting, I do not expect the Fed to be able to hold rates with the same confidence as recently," adding, "Even if they hold, any dissent in favor of a hike could be an interesting signal."
By sector, energy and utilities were strong, while industrials and financials were weak.
Data storage company Seagate Technology rose 6.87% after issuing a quarterly outlook that topped market expectations. Seagate guided fiscal year first-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) and revenue at $7.30 and $4.1 billion, respectively. Market expectations were $5.80 and $3.75 billion, respectively.
Artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure corporations Vertiv plunged 10.22% after its second-quarter results. EPS and revenue topped market forecasts, but the year-over-year organic revenue growth rate was 17.8%, well below the 23.6% the market expected.
Procter & Gamble (P&G) fell 3.71% as fiscal year fourth-quarter revenue came in at $21.2 billion, below the $21.38 billion expected by the market, and net income decreased to $3.04 billion from $3.62 billion in the same period a year earlier.
European stocks were mixed. The Euro Stoxx 50 was down 0.34% at 6,267.91 from the previous session. Britain's FTSE 100 and Germany's DAX rose 0.26% and 0.14%, respectively, while France's CAC 40 fell 0.72%.
Global oil prices extended gains. At the same time, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for September 2026 delivery rose 6.27% from the previous session to $84.23 a barrel.