Midday trading: U.S. stocks fell further, with the Dow falling 800 points and Brent crude oil breaking through $80
In the early morning of July 9th, Beijing time, U.S. stocks expanded their losses in midday trading on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling about 800 points. U.S. President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was "over" and renewed tensions in the Middle East sent oil prices soaring. The Federal Reserve will release the minutes of its June monetary policy meeting today. The Dow fell 796.66 points, or 1.51%, to 52128.49 points; the Nasdaq fell 237.03 points, or 0.92%, to 25581.66 points; the S&P 500 fell 67.61 points, or 0.90%, to 7436.24 points. Brent crude futures were up 8% at $80.07 a barrel in midday trading on Wednesday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 7.6% to $75.77 a barrel. Prior to this, U.S. President Trump said at the NATO summit in Turkey on Wednesday: "I think the (U.S.-Iran) ceasefire is over. I don't want to deal with them anymore. They are scum." Trump's comments came after the United States launched what it called "a series of powerful strikes" against Iran on Tuesday in retaliation for attacks on three commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told reporters at a NATO summit in Ankara, Türkiye, on Wednesday that a U.S. strike was "absolutely necessary." “When a ceasefire exists and Iran is essentially violating it — and we saw that yesterday with the attack on the ship — I think it’s critical that the U.S. responds forcefully,” he said. Energy stocks rose, driven by rising oil prices. and Marathon Petroleum shares rose about 2%. Shares rose more than 1%. In contrast, chip stocks extended recent pressure. For example, Technology fell 4% and was down 25% from its 52-week high as of Tuesday's close. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) fell nearly 2% and is down 13% from its recent highs. "Renewed tensions in the Middle East have shattered the market's increasingly complacent narrative and prompted investors to reassess geopolitical risks after weeks of pricing in a smooth deconflict path," Capital.com senior market analyst Daniela Hathorn said in a report Wednesday morning. Daniela Hathorn said: "The latest attacks remind investors that while the ceasefire remains in place, a lasting agreement between the United States and Iran is far from guaranteed. Markets have been accustomed to thinking that the conflict will gradually fade into the background, but recent developments suggest that this assumption may be premature." Investors' attention will also turn to the minutes of the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee's June meeting, which will be released at 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The report is expected to provide additional insights into Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh's first policy meeting. At that meeting, officials kept interest rates on hold while signaling that further hikes may be needed if inflationary pressures persist. "The FOMC minutes will be a wild card because Warsh has been very opaque in recent press conferences," said Adam Crisafulli, founder of Vital Knowledge. "Normally, Jerome Powell would provide a fairly comprehensive account of the meeting discussions, but Warsh did not do that, so the minutes - which may have a hawkish tone - may contain some surprises," he said. Open a futures account on Sina's cooperative platform, safe, fast and guaranteed