WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks have moved sharply lower during trading on Wednesday, with the major averages all showing notable moves to the downside after closing mixed for three consecutive sessions.
Currently, the major averages are just off their lows of the session. The Dow is down 820.60 points or 1.6 percent at 51,926.72, the Nasdaq is down 260.21 points or 1.1 percent at 24,616.70 and the S&P 500 is down 58.67 points or 0.8 percent at 7,370.11.
The significant weakness on Wall Street comes amid a substantial rebound by the price of crude oil, with U.S. crude oil futures soaring by more than 7 percent after plummeting by 14 percent over the three previous sessions.
Crude oil prices are surging amid concerns about another re-escalation of the conflict between the U.S. and Iran after attacks were paused for several days.
U.S. Central Command said in a post on X that Iran launched multiple ballistic missiles in an attempted surprise attack on U.S. forces based in the Middle East on Tuesday. The missiles were successfully intercepted.
In a subsequent statement, Centcom said U.S. and Saudi Arabian forces conducted precision strikes in Iraq against Iran-aligned terrorists that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps directed to attack U.S. forces and Saudi energy infrastructure.
U.S. and Saudi fighter aircraft struck multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq in a strong response to over 30 IRGC-directed aerial drone attacks in the last 72 hours, Centcom said.
In response to the surprise attacks on U.S. forces in Jordan, President Donald Trump told a Fox News reporter the U.S. will be hitting Iran hard, adding, 'They're going to get a beating.'
The rebound by the price of crude has led to renewed concerns about the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement this afternoon.
The Fed is seen as most likely to leave interest rates unchanged, although there is some concern about the possibility of a surprise rate hike.
CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 66.3 percent chance the Fed leaves rates unchanged and a 33.7 percent chance of a quarter point increase.
In the past, traders have looked to the accompanying statement for clues about the outlook for rates, although the pared down statement under new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh may not provide much insight.
Sector News
Housing stocks have moved sharply lower amid concerns about the outlook for interest rates, with the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index plummeting by 3.5 percent.
Substantial weakness is also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 3.3 percent plunge by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The index has tumbled to its lowest intraday level in almost three months.
Networking stocks have also shown a significant move to the downside, dragging the NYSE Arca Networking Index down by 3 percent to a three-month intraday low.
Steel, airline gold and computer hardware stocks are also seeing considerable weakness, while oil producer stocks are surging along with the price of crude oil.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.5 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged by 2 percent.
The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.9 percent, the German DAX Index is just above the unchanged line and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.1 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries are giving back ground after trending higher over the past few sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, is up by 3.7 basis points at 4.641 percent.
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