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US Equity Indexes Drop, Crude Oil Jumps Following Tehran's Retaliatory Missile Strikes on Kuwait, Bahrain
US equity indexes declined while crude oil futures jumped as fresh fighting in the Middle East undermined the likelihood of a peace deal between Washington and Iran, implying the Strait of Hormuz will remain shut for the foreseeable future.The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.9% to 26,863.1 in Wednesday's midday trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.8% to 50,877.8, and the S&P 500 fell 0.5% to 7,569.3.The US and Iran exchanged heavy fire on Tuesday evening after the US struck an empty oil tanker it said was attempting to breach its blockade, according to The Wall Street Journal. That set off a string of attacks by both sides, with Iran striking US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, the WSJ reported.Kuwait came under a barrage of ballistic missiles and drones on Wednesday that shut its international airport, killed one person, and injured dozens more, the WSJ said. Iran's Revolutionary Guard said retaliatory strikes "should serve as a lesson" for the US, according to a report from Al Jazeera.President Donald Trump, in an interview released Wednesday, confirmed an earlier report that he criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as "crazy" in a Monday phone call, saying he was "a little bit perturbed" that Israel's fighting of Hezbollah in Lebanon was holding back peace talks with Iran, according to the Associated Press.US commercial crude oil stocks, excluding inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, declined by 8.0 million barrels in the week ended May 29 after a 3.3-million-barrel decline in the previous week, a larger drop than the 3.1-million-barrel decrease expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.Brent crude futures marched 2.2% higher to $98.10, and West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures added 2.6% to $96.21.Most US Treasury yields rose amid an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, abetting inflation concerns. The 10-year jumped four basis points to 4.5%, and the two-year advanced 3.5 basis points to 4.09%.In precious metals, gold futures dropped 1.1% to $4,472.9, and silver futures slumped 2.3% to $73.82, reflecting the challenge the Federal Reserve would face in tackling supply-side price pressures.In economic news, ADP's monthly measure of private payrolls showed a 122,000 increase in May from a revised 105,000 expansion in the previous month, above expectations for an increase of 120,000 in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.The Institute for Supply Management's US services index rose to 54.5 in May from 53.6 in April, compared with expectations for 53.8 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. The S&P Global US services index was revised downward to 50.7 in May from the 50.9 flash reading, compared with expectations for an upward revision to 51.0 in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development lowered its global economic growth projection to 2.8% for 2026, down from 2.9% in March, cautioning that the fallout from the Middle East conflict may linger even after its resolution. The OECD, however, continues to expect US economic growth at 2% this year, though it raised the estimate for next year to 1.8% from 1.7%.In company news, Macy's (M) raised its full-year outlook as fiscal Q1 earnings unexpectedly increased year over year.
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Market Chatter: Americans Look North As Canada Real Estate Website Sees Massive Spike
A growing number of Americans are searching for properties in Canada as they consider seeking refuge north of the border, CTV National News is reporting Wednesday.A new report from the Canadian real estate company Royal LePage says U.S.-originated sessions on the company's website have spiked throughout the first half of 2026, with traffic surging during periods of economic and geopolitical uncertainty.The company says the first major spike to its website from U.S.-based users happened between Jan. 11 and 17, days after 37-year-old Renee Good was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis, Minn.During that period, Royal Lepage says traffic to its website rose 78% week-over-week, and 65% year-over-year.A second spike, which set new records, occurred between April 5 and 11 following heightened geopolitical tensions surrounding the war in Iran.U.S.-originated traffic to royallepage.ca surged 125% week-over-week, an increase of 233% compared to the same period in 2025.Additional spikes by U.S. based visitors were seen April 26 to May 2 and May 10 to 16.While the company admits it has no way of knowing whether any of the U.S. visitors to its website ended up moving to Canada, Royal LePage's president says similar patterns were seen during the lead up to the 2024 U.S. presidential election and in its aftermath.(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally, and/or from other media sources. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)
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