All three major indexes on Wall Street closed lower. As talks between the United States and Iran stalled and tensions in the Middle East flared again, not only did international oil prices rise, but U.S. Government Bonds yields also jumped, concentrating selling in interest rate–sensitive semiconductor and tech stocks.
On the 18th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 116.38 points, or 0.22%, to close at 53,343.40. The large-cap–focused Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 fell 0.69% to 7,691.76, its third straight decline. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite dropped 1.33% to 26,289.71.
As hopes for peace talks between the United States and Iran faded recently and international oil prices rose on Middle East–driven instability, the resulting increase in energy prices stoked inflation fears and appeared to drive a surge in long-term Government Bonds yields. U.S. President Donald Trump said on the social media platform Truth Social, "(Currently) we are not engaged in any negotiations or dialogue with Iran, and there are no scheduled talks." He added that the maritime blockade remains fully in place.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 0.52% to settle at $84.95 per barrel. The U.S. 30-year Government Bonds yield also set a 19-year record high intraday, the most since 2007, and the 10-year yield climbed to its highest level since January 2025.
Burns McKinney, portfolio manager at NFJ Investment Group, told Reuters, "It starts like a domino effect. If talks collapse, oil prices rise, which lifts inflation expectations and leads to higher bond yields," adding, "Every time bond yields rise, tech stocks tend to be disproportionately harder hit."
In particular, profit-taking was concentrated in semiconductor stocks that had surged on the AI boom. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) plunged 4.98% to 11,992.46, and AI Semiconductor bellwether Nvidia fell 2.34% to $219.74. Micron Technology tumbled 7.02% to $940.76 to end the session.
AMD fell 4.27% to $484.39, and Broadcom dropped 3.17% to $380. Intel also plunged 6.58% to $96.68. Depository receipts (ADR) of SK hynix(000660) listed in the U.S. market fell 9.2% to $155.62 to end the transaction. In addition, Western Digital fell 7% and SanDisk dropped 9%.
Fawad Razaqzada of Forex.com said, "The rise in energy expenses and long-term borrowing costs is combining to make things more difficult," noting, "Investors have started to shift into a defensive posture."
International oil prices also finished higher. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, September delivery WTI rose 0.52% from the previous session to $84.95 per barrel, while on the ICE Futures Exchange, October delivery Brent crude gained 0.17% from the previous session to settle at $91.02 per barrel.