U.S. stock indexes close lower

The S&P 500 shed 53.30 points, or 0.69%, to 7,691.76, the ​Nasdaq Composite dropped 355.20 points, or 1.33%, to 26,289.71, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 116.38 ​points, or 0.22%, to 53,343.40

U.S. stock market’s main indexes closed lower on Tuesday with semiconductors leading technology declines as Middle East uncertainty ​pushed bond yields to multiyear highs, feeding concerns about borrowing costs and inflation.

Fading hopes for Middle East peace pushed oil prices ‌higher, which in turn triggered an increase in U.S. 30-year Treasury bond yields to their highest levels since 2007. The 10-year bond yields touched their highest levels since January 2025.

The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index tumbled 5% as investors fled stocks that had rallied previously on booming AI-related demand. Rising borrowing costs lowered how much investors were willing to pay for ​potential growth in technology profits.

It starts off almost like a domino effect. Talks break down. That leads to oil prices going up. That ​leads to higher inflation expectations and bond yields rise, said Burns McKinney, portfolio manager at NFJ Investment Group. He ⁠added that every time bond yields rise, that tends to disproportionately hit the technology names.

The S&P 500 shed 53.30 points, or 0.69%, to 7,691.76 and the ​Nasdaq Composite dropped 355.20 points, or 1.33%, to 26,289.71, marking the biggest daily percentage decline since July 29 for both.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 116.38 ​points, or 0.22%, to 53,343.40.

Among the S&P 500’s 11 major sectors, information technology created by far the biggest index-point drag and was the benchmark’s biggest percentage loser, declining 1.9%.

The S&P 500’s biggest drags from individual stocks came from chip companies, including leading AI chipmaker Nvidia, down 2.3%, and memory chipmaker Micron Technology, which slid 7% after ​rising nearly 18% in the previous five sessions.