FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

US Equity Indexes Fall Amid Surge in Crude Oil Prices, Dissent in Fed Policy Highest in Over 3 Decades

By

US equity indexes fell ahead of Wednesday's close as crude oil futures and government bond yields rose amid concern that no end is in sight for the Iran war.

The Federal Open Market Committee maintained its target rate at a policy meeting, but beneath that outcome, the level of dissent was, reportedly, the highest since 1992. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference after the meeting that he could stay as governor "at least" until the central bank's legal challenges are resolved.

Index heavyweights Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), Amazon.com (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META), and Microsoft (MSFT) will report quarterly earnings after the bell, adding to frayed nerves as investors await the latest read on the hyperscalers' capital expenditure plans.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6% to 48,860.1, with the S&P 500 down 0.1% to 7,129.2. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.1% to 24,639.5.

President Donald Trump has instructed aides to prepare for an extended blockade of Iran, US officials told The Wall Street Journal. In recent meetings, including a Monday discussion in the Situation Room, Trump opted to continue squeezing Iran's economy and oil exports by preventing shipping to and from its ports, the WSJ reported.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures jumped 8.2% to $108.15, and Brent crude futures surged 7.8% to $119.97 amid concern that Trump's policy will prolong disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint for 20% of global crude oil flows.

The FOMC maintained its target rate at 3.50% to 3.75%, as expected, but four officials dissented, its statement showed late Wednesday.

Fed Governor Stephen Miran again sought a 25-basis-point rate. Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan supported holding rates steady but "did not support inclusion of an easing bias in the statement at this time," according to the statement.

Chair Powell said he will continue to serve as a Fed Governor after his term as chair ends next month. Powell's term as governor is due to end in January 2028, but he could leave before the expiry. "I will stay until it is appropriate for me to leave."

Related Articles

Japan

US Equity Indexes Decline Amid Sharp Sell-Off in Semiconductors, Rising Crude Oil

US equity indexes traded lower ahead of Tuesday's close as a decline in semiconductor shares crushed technology and worsening Middle East geopolitics pushed crude oil futures higher.The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.9% to 24,675.1, and the S&P 500 slid 0.5% to 7,138.2. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1% to 49,124.9.Microsoft-backed (MSFT) OpenAI recently missed its own targets for new users and revenue, The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar expressed concern that OpenAI may not be able to pay for future computing contracts if sales fail to grow fast enough, the news report said, citing the people.Among companies with a market capitalization of more than $200 billion, the worst performers were largely semiconductor names, including Arm Holdings (ARM), Applied Materials (AMAT), Arista Networks (ANET), Broadcom (AVGO), and Oracle (ORCL), according to data compiled by Finviz.Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates will leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its more expanded version, OPEC+, effective May 1, the Emirates News Agency reported.This comes as Iran's latest proposal to end the war in the Middle East has left President Donald Trump unhappy with the offer, leaving the deadly conflict in a continuing state of deadlock, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing an unnamed US official.West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures jumped 3.7% to $99.96, and Brent crude futures advanced 2.7% to $111.16.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$AMAT$ANET$ARM$AVGO$MSFT$ORCL
Japan

Semiconductor Sell-Off Pushes S&P 500, Nasdaq Lower

US equity indexes were mixed in Tuesday's midday trading, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite sliding, as slumping semiconductor shares sent technology lower, and worsening Middle East geopolitics lifted crude oil futures.The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.3% to 24,568.2, and the S&P 500 slid 0.7% to 7,124.6. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, home mostly to old economy shares, climbed 0.2% to 49,259.3.Microsoft-backed (MSFT) OpenAI recently missed its own targets for new users and revenue, The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar expressed concern that OpenAI may not be able to pay for future computing contracts if sales fail to grow fast enough, the news report said, citing the people.Among companies with a market capitalization of more than $200 billion, the worst performers were largely semiconductor names, including Arm Holdings (ARM), Applied Materials (AMAT), Lam Research (LRCX), Arista Networks (ANET), and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), according to data compiled by Finviz.Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates will leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its more expanded version, OPEC+, effective May 1, the Emirates News Agency reported.This comes as Iran's latest proposal to end the war in the Middle East has still not won President Donald Trump's backing, leaving the deadly conflict in a continuing state of deadlock, Reuters said in a Tuesday report, citing an unnamed US official.West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures jumped 3.6% to $99.80, and Brent crude futures advanced 2.6% to $111.08.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$AMAT$ARM$LRCXMAMD$MSFT
Japan

US Equity Futures Mixed Pre-Bell Amid Continued Middle East Standoff, AI Spending Concerns

US equity futures were mixed pre-bell Tuesday as the US-Iran standoff continues with no end in sight, while concerns about heavy spending on data centers were brought into focus amid reports of OpenAI's missed targets.Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.2% higher, S&P 500 futures were down 0.6%, and Nasdaq futures were 1.1% lower.President Donald Trump was unhappy with Iran's latest proposal to end the Middle East conflict, Reuters reported, citing a US official. Iran had proposed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by deferring nuclear talks to a later date, while Trump wants nuclear issues dealt with from the outset.Microsoft-backed (MSFT) OpenAI recently missed internal targets for new users and revenue, raising concerns among company leaders about being able to support its massive spending on data centers, according to a Wall Street Journal report that cited sources familiar with the matter.Traders digested the latest round earnings. Coca-Cola (KO) reported higher Q1 adjusted earnings and revenue, while Novartis (NVS) posted a decline in Q1 core earnings and net sales.Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 4% at $105.74 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 5.4% higher at $101.75 per barrel.The February S&P Case-Shiller home price index, scheduled for release at 9 am ET, is expected to show a 0.2% gain following a similar increase in the preceding month, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.The April consumer confidence index, due at 10 am ET, is projected to fall to 89.0 from 91.8.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$KO$MSFT$NVS