As armed clashes in the Middle East intensified, all three major indexes on the New York Stock Exchange fell. As international oil prices neared $100 a barrel on concerns about disruptions to oil supplies, fears also grew that inflation could flare up again.
On the 8th (local time) at the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 52,786.07, down 628.18 points (1.18%) from the previous session.
The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 fell 45.08 points (0.58%) to 7,673.52, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite closed at 26,421.41, down 85.58 points (0.32%).
As the situation in the Middle East deteriorated again over the weekend and the U.S. Labor Day holiday, investor sentiment weakened. Not only in the Strait of Hormuz but also in the Red Sea, where Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels exert influence, fighting intensified, spreading concerns that oil supplies could be disrupted.
The Houthis claimed they carried out large-scale retaliatory attacks targeting facilities of Saudi Aramco, the Saudi Arabian state oil company, and air bases.
In the Strait of Hormuz, as armed clashes between the United States and Iran resumed, anxiety over ship passage persisted. Just before the close, reports emerged that a small oil tanker near Kharg Island, a key hub for Iran's crude exports, had been hit by a U.S. missile strike. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy immediately warned of retaliation.
On supply jitters from the Middle East, international oil prices neared $100 a barrel. Brent for November delivery settled at $97.92 a barrel, up $0.92 (0.95%) from the previous session. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for October delivery rose $1.55 (1.69%) to $93.03 a barrel.
Caution over the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) for August, to be released on the 11th, also dragged stocks lower. Ahead of next week's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, concerns mounted that, coupled with rising international oil prices, price pressures could build again.
Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide, said, "If the CPI beats expectations, it will be very difficult to avoid a rate hike," and noted, "This is what investors are most focused on right now."
Semiconductor stocks were strong, trimming some of the indexes' losses. Intel jumped 9.1%, AMD surged 5.9%, and Broadcom rose 3%.
As inflation worries grew, U.S. Treasury yields also climbed. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.805%, moving back above 4.8%.
Gold prices fell. On the New York Mercantile Exchange (COMEX), December gold futures ended down 1.0% at $4,430.10 an ounce.
By contrast, copper prices hit a record high on speculation that President Donald Trump could expand U.S. copper tariffs to include refined copper. On the London Metal Exchange (LME), three-month copper rose 1.5% to $14,728 per ton.