WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Stocks moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday, extending the downward move seen over the past several sessions. With the continued weakness, the Dow and S&P 500 dropped to their lowest closing levels in over a month.
The major averages all finished the day firmly in negative territory. The Dow fell 316.56 points or 0.6 percent to 52,064.10, the Nasdaq slid 171.62 points or 0.7 percent to 26,081.72 and the S&P 500 declined 44.66 points or 0.6 percent to 7,591.70.
The continued weakness on Wall Street came as the price of crude oil skyrocketed, with U.S. crude oil futures soaring above $100 a barrel for the first time since May amid concerns about a prolonged war between the U.S. and Iran.
A Wall Street Journal report citing U.S. officials said top White House advisers have privately raised the prospect with President Donald Trump that the war could drag on through the remainder of his term.
Trump suggested on Wednesday that the U.S.-Iran war would end immediately after the midterm elections, although he has repeatedly claimed that the seven-month-old conflict would end soon.
The spike in crude oil prices contributed to a continued surge in treasury yields, with the yield on the benchmark ten-year note jumping to its highest levels in almost three years.
Higher crude oil prices and treasury yields have added to concerns about the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting next week.
CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating a 73.1 percent chance that the Fed will raise rates by a quarter point following the meeting.
A rate hike is still expected after the Labor Department released its report on producer price inflation in the month of August.
While the report showed producer prices increased in line with economist estimates on a monthly basis, the annual rate of price growth accelerated by slightly more than expected.
Sector News
Gold stocks moved sharply lower along with the price of the precious metal, resulting in a 3 percent nosedive by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.
Substantial weakness also emerged among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 2.7 percent plunge by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index.
Computer hardware stocks also showed a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index down by 2.3 percent.
Housing, airline and biotechnology stocks also saw notable weakness, moving lower along with most of the other major sectors.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in another mixed performance during trading on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.2 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.4 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index slid by 0.8 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index declined by 0.6 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.
In the bond market, treasuries moved sharply higher, extending the upward trend seen over the past several sessions. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, spiked 10.7 basis points to 4.944 percent.
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