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Update: US Equity Indexes Drop as Iran Widens Attack in Middle East

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(Updates with index/price moves and geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)

US equity indexes slumped as growth sectors sold off, with crude oil surging after Iran widened its attack to a desalination plant in Kuwait.

The Nasdaq retreated 1.4% to 25,512.2, with the S&P 500 down 1.1% to 7,453.3 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lower by 0.8% to 52,153.5 ahead of Friday's close. Communication services, consumer discretionary, and technology led decliners, while energy was the sole gainer.

Netflix (NFLX), part of the communication services sector, reported mixed fiscal Q2 results overnight, with earnings above consensus while sales missed, and Q3 guidance lagging market expectations. Shares sank 7.6%, helping lead the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq lower.

In geopolitical news, US Central Command said in a post on X that it completed the sixth consecutive wave of attacks against Iran, degrading the nation's military capabilities and holding it "accountable" for recent attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump has threatened to launch broad-based air strikes on Iranian infrastructure and has also declined to rule out a ground assault on Iran's coast or islands, Reuters reported.

In response, Iran announced attacks on Gulf countries that host US airbases, including Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait, the Reuters news report said. Authorities in Kuwait said one of the country's power generation and water desalination stations had been hit in an Iranian attack, it added. Iran recently warned the US that it has asked its allies, Yemen's Houthis, to stand ready to close the Red Sea chokepoint.

The front-month US West Texas Intermediate jumped 4.1% to $82.17 a barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent advanced 4.2% to $87.78 a barrel.

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