Stocks moved lower on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump told the NATO summit in Turkey that the ceasefire with Iran is “over” amid renewed hostilities in the Middle East that sent oil prices surging.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 488 points, or 0.9%. The S&P 500 was 0.6% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.4%.
International Brent crude futures were up 5.2% at $78.01 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate futures popped 5% to trade at $73.96.
“I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them anymore. They’re scum,” Trump said.
The president said later Wednesday that the U.S. “might hit them hard again tonight,” before adding “we’ll see how it all works out.”
Trump’s remarks followed what the U.S. called a “series of powerful strikes” against Iran on Tuesday in retaliation to attacks against three commercial vessels traveling in the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking to reporters at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, on Wednesday, the military alliance’s Secretary General Mark Rutte said America’s strikes were “absolutely necessary.”
“When you have a ceasefire and Iran is basically violating the ceasefire — we see what happened yesterday with ships being attacked — I think it is totally crucial that the U.S. forcefully reacts,” he said.
Energy stocks rose as well. Shares of ConocoPhillips and Marathon Petroleum gained 2%, while shares of Chevron and Exxon Mobil advanced more than 1%.
Consumer stocks that may be impacted by higher energy prices fell. Home Depot slid 3.7%, while McDonald’s pulled back by 1.7%. Booking Holdings slid 3%.
Additionally, chip stocks — which came under pressure in the previous session — stabilized. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) rose 0.6%, though the fund is still 13% below its recent high.
“Renewed tensions in the Middle East have interrupted what had become an increasingly complacent market narrative, prompting investors to reassess geopolitical risks after several weeks of pricing in a smooth path toward de-escalation,” Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com, said in a note on Wednesday morning.
“The latest attacks have reminded investors that while a ceasefire remains in place, a lasting agreement between the U.S. and Iran is far from guaranteed. Markets had become comfortable with the idea that the conflict would gradually fade into the background but recent developments suggest that assumption may have been premature,” Hathorn added.
Investors’ attention will also turn to the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s June meeting, due at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday. The release is expected to provide more insight into Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh’s first policy meeting, where officials left interest rates unchanged while signaling that additional rate hikes could be warranted if inflation pressures persist.
— CNBC’s Garrett Downs contributed reporting.
Stocks fall Wednesday
The three major averages began Wednesday’s session in the red.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 488 points, or 0.9%, shortly after the opening bell. The S&P 500 dropped 0.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.4%.
— Sean Conlon
Blue Origin valued at $130 billion in first outside funding round
Jeff Bezos‘ Blue Origin is raising about $10 billion, in its first outside funding round that will value the rocket company at $130 billion, sources told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin.
Bezos is set to contribute $2 billion into the round, along with about $4 billion from hedge fund Coatue Management, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the details are private.
The remaining $4 billion has seen significant demand, with several major investors expected to participate, the people said. Read more.
— Annie Palmer
Fed meeting minutes set to show ‘family fight’ over path of interest rates
Divided Federal Reserve officials indicated at their last meeting that they will address persistent inflation this year with one interest rate hike. History, though, suggests that policymakers will have a hard time stopping there.
In fact, there have been few instances over the past 35 years or so when the Fed has only made one rate move, be it up or down. Rather, the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee tends to move in rate cycles, where it adjusts policy multiple times over a period to meet whatever goal it seeks to accomplish.
“A lot of people are talking about one rate increase. The committee does not generally do that. I mean, what’s the point of that?” former St. Louis Fed President Jim Bullard told CNBC on Monday. “So, usually it means a tightening cycle, and I think markets are trying to sniff that out right now.”
Markets will get more clues Wednesday about the Fed’s policy direction when the committee releases minutes from its June 16-17 meeting. The summary will provide a glimpse behind the curtain of new Chairman Kevin Warsh’s first meeting, which he characterized last month as “a good family fight” on the direction of rates.
Read the full story here.
— Jeff Cox
Diamondback Energy, Carnival Corporation and SpaceX among the stocks making moves before the bell
Check out the companies making the biggest moves premarket:
Read here for the full list of names.
— Davis Giangiulio
Energy surges, tech drops as U.S.-Iran tensions are reignited
The XLE ETF, which tracks the S&P 500 energy sector, jumped more than 2% in the premarket as tensions in the Middle East rose once again. Diamondback Energy, Occidental Petroleum and Valero Energy led the gains.
The XLK tech sector ETF, meanwhile, dropped around 2%, as investors appeared to book profits in the space. Sandisk was the fund’s biggest decliner, losing 4%. Micron slid 4%.
— Fred Imbert
Global bonds sell off
Yields on bonds issues by governments across the globe jumped on Wednesday, as investors priced in higher inflation after U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments on the Iran war.
Speaking at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday morning, Trump said he thought the ceasefire between Tehran and Washington was “over.” His comments came in the wake of fresh strikes in the Middle East.
At 5:55 a.m. ET, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury was around 5 basis points higher at 4.577%. U.K. 10-year government bonds rose by 10 basis points, French and Italian 10-year bonds were nearing a 13-basis-point rise, and Germany’s 10-year Bund yield added nearly 9 basis points.
Yields also rose on government bonds in Japan, Australia and Spain, with the latter’s 10-year bond adding 10 basis points after Trump said he wanted to “cut off all trade” with Madrid over its defense spending policy.
One basis point equals 0.01%, or 1/100th of 1%, and yields and prices move inversely to one another.
— Chloe Taylor
Oil prices soar after Trump declares Iran ceasefire ‘over’
Energy prices surged Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump told the NATO summit that the ceasefire agreement with Iran is “over”.
Brent crude futures, the international price benchmark, jumped 6.2% to $78.73 per barrel following Trump’s remarks. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were more than 6.3% higher at $74.71.
—Hugh Leask
South Korea stocks lead losses as most Asia markets end lower
Asia-Pacific markets closed lower Tuesday, with South Korea’s Kospi leading declines.
The Kospi closed 5.35% lower at 7,246.79. The Korea Exchange briefly stopped sell-side trading, also known as a sidecar, for the index.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 2.11% to 66,819.05, while the Topix declined 1.37% to 4,006.43. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.21% to 8,785.10.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index defied the broader trend, closing 3% higher at 24,199.46, while mainland China’s CSI 300 fell 0.77% to 4,755.53.
— Justina Lee
Spanish government bonds plunge after Trump threatens to ‘cut off all trade’
Spanish bonds — which had already been selling off — slid further after U.S. President Donald Trump told the NATO summit in Turkey that he wanted to “cut off all trade with Spain.”
The yield on Spain’s benchmark 10-year bond last seen trading more than 8 basis points higher at 3.5537%. The Spanish IBEX 35 equity index also fell sharply, and was last seen trading 2.37% lower.
Speaking alongside NATO Secretary General Marke Rutte, Trump called Spain “a terrible partner” in NATO.
— Hugh Leask
European stocks sell off as oil prices rise
Shares listed in Europe saw a broad sell-off at the open on Wednesday, extending a decline that began at the start of the week.
At 8:30 a.m. in London (3:30 a.m. ET), the pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.7% lower, with almost every sector in negative territory. Oil and gas stocks bucked the trend, rising 1.2% as oil prices rose in the aftermath of fresh hostilities between the U.S. and Iran.
All major bourses moved lower in early trading, with Germany’s DAX leading losses on a decline of 1%.
— Chloe Taylor
South Korea’s Kospi enters bear market as chip sell-off deepens
South Korea’s benchmark Kospi extended declines to enter a bear market. The index fell more than 5%, leaving it roughly 20% below a record high reached on June 19, data from LSEG showed.
South Korea’s Kospi has been among the world’s top-performing major equity markets this year, but it has become increasingly exposed to swings in semiconductor sentiment as SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics reportedly crossed 50% weightage on the index in June.
Chipmakers SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics dropped 4% and 6%, respectively, Wednesday.
—Lee Ying Shan
South Korean exchange briefly curbs Kospi trading after index falls
The South Korean exchange briefly stopped sell-side trading, also known as a sidecar, for its benchmark Kospi index, after it plunged over 5%.
The Kospi was pressured by index heavyweight Samsung which fell nearly 6%, while SK Hynix declined 2.45%. Together the two stocks account for more than 40% of the Kospi. South Korean defense stocks also sold-off Wednesday.
A sidecar stops trading for 5 minutes.
—Justina Lee
Hanwha extends losses after losing Canadian submarine contract as Korean defense stocks fall
South Korean defense stocks were lower Wednesday.
Hanwha Aerospace, Seoul’s largest defense stock, fell more than 6%. Hyundai Rotem, maker of the K2 Black Panther main battle tank, fell 9.23%, and LIG Defense & Aerospace dropped 10%. Firstec, which makes components for ground combat vehicles, declined 3.42%.
Shares of South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean extended losses on Wednesday, dropping more than 6%. Shares had plunging about 23% on Tuesday, after the company lost its bid to build submarines for Canada to Germany’s Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems.
Separately, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday proposed at the NATO summit to upgrade his country’s current defense cooperation with the military alliance to “South Korea-NATO Defense Industry Partnership 2.0.”
—Justina Lee
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng opens higher, mainland China’s CSI 300 falls
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.2% on open Wednesday, while mainland China’s CSI 300 declined 0.47%.
China’s macroeconomic backdrop remains challenging, with weak retail sales and soft consumer sentiment continuing to weigh on markets, said Tai Hui, JPMorgan’s chief Asia market strategist.
Hui said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” that the underperformance of Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index and Hang Seng Tech Index largely reflects their heavy exposure to e-commerce and internet platforms, that are getting “squeezed,” while they spend heavily to integrate artificial intelligence into their businesses.
The Hang Seng has lost nearly 7% so far this year.
— Lee Ying Shan
Oil jumps as U.S. ‘powerful strikes’ against Iran risk unraveling fragile Mideast truce
Oil prices rose Wednesday after the U.S. launched fresh strikes on Iran in retaliation for Tehran attacking commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
West Texas Intermediate futures for August delivery rose 2.1% to $71.87 per barrel. Futures for International benchmark Brent crude for September delivery jumped 1.9% to $75.53 per barrel.
The U.S. military said it had begun a “series of powerful strikes” against Iran after three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz came under attack on Tuesday, warning Tehran would face “heavy costs” for targeting commercial shipping.
“The U.S. strikes are in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s demonstrated aggression was unwarranted, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire,” Centcom said in a post to X.
The latest exchange threatens to test a fragile ceasefire reached last month that reopened the critical Strait of Hormuz for commercial shipping after months of disruption.
—Lee Ying Shan
Asia-Pacific markets fall as U.S.-Iran tensions flare after Hormuz attacks
Asia-Pacific markets opened lower Wednesday as escalating tensions in the Middle East weighed on investor sentiment.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.55%, while the Topix declined 0.7%. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.72%, and the small-cap Kosdaq dropped 1.94%.
Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was 1.36% lower.
— Lee Ying Shan
Z.ai says most cornerstone investors holding shares despite lock-up expiration
Hong Kong-listed AI model company Z.ai said late Tuesday that nearly 70% of its cornerstone investors will keep holding shares despite the six-month lock-up period expiring Wednesday. The Beijing-based company said backers including state-backed funds, WT Asset Management and Optimas Capital would keep holding the shares, but did not specify a time range.
Also known as Knowledge Atlas, Z.ai has seen its shares skyrocket by 1,200% since listing in January. The company last month announced plans to also offer shares in mainland China’s A share market.
PBOC Governor Pan Gongsheng said at a summit in Hong Kong on Tuesday that Beijing would continue to support listings of “high-quality” companies on the exchange, and expand the annual quota for mainland Chinese investment in Hong Kong and Macao-traded bonds by 300 billion to 800 billion yuan ($44 billion to $118 billion).
Asia markets set to open mostly lower as renewed U.S. strikes on Iran weigh on sentiment
Asia-Pacific markets were set to open mostly lower Wednesday on rising tensions in the Middle East, after the U.S. launched fresh strikes on Iran in retaliation for Tehran targeting commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 is set to open lower, with the futures contract in Chicago at 67,725, against the index’s last close of 68,256.96.
Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 also looked set to decline, with futures last at 8,743, compared with the index’s close of 8,803.90.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index stood at 23,499, compared with its last close of 23,496.89.
The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday revoked its authorization for Iranian oil sales after a series of attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz this week.
—Lee Ying Shan
Gold logs first losing day in 4
Gold prices fell for a fourth straight session on Tuesday, extending a sharp retreat from record highs reached earlier this year as investors continued to unwind safe-haven trades.
August gold futures settled down 0.2% at $4,157.40 an ounce, turning in the first negative day in four. The precious metal has not settled below the $4,000 level since Nov. 6, 2025.
Gold has now fallen more than 20% since the Iran conflict began in late February, giving back much of the geopolitical premium that helped propel prices to an all-time intraday high of $5,626.80 and a record settlement of $5,354.80 on Jan. 29. The metal is now down 4.2% for the year.
— Yun Li, Gina Francolla
Trivariate’s Parker: ‘You can’t be bullish on the U.S. equity market and bearish on tech’
Trivariate Research founder Adam Parker sees the story of technology stocks and the broader market connected, despite questions about if a rotation is in the works.
“You can’t be bullish on the U.S. equity market and bearish on tech,” Parker said Tuesday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.” “Those are incongruous concepts.”
Parker said in a note to clients that nearly three-fifths of S&P 500 earnings expansion over the next two years will come from tech. He called that an “incredibly high” percentage.
— Alex Harring
