(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)
US equity indexes declined, with chipmakers helping drive technology to the bottom of sector charts, after the 30-year government bond yield touched levels last seen around the 2007 global financial crisis and crude oil prices continued to march higher.
The Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.3% to 26,289.71, and the S&P 500 declined 0.7% to 7,691.76 on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2% to 53,343.40. Technology and industrials led decliners. Energy, healthcare and consumer staples topped the gainers.
Among companies with market capitalizations exceeding $200 billion each, nine of the top 10 decliners were from the technology sector, according to data compiled by Finviz. Of those nine firms, seven were related to the semiconductor industry. The leader of the pack was Sandisk (SNDK), down 9.2%.
US Treasury yields retreated after midday. The 30-year yield fell 2.6 basis points to 5.28% after touching 5.34% intraday, the highest since 2007.
The increase in the 30-year yield to a 19-year high comes amid concerns that an imminent escalation in the Middle East sent Brent crude prices above $90 a barrel and will fan fears of inflation, according to a D.A. Davidson research note Tuesday.
The household saving rate has plummeted to 2.7% from 6.4% in early 2024, and the housing wealth effect is negative for the middle bulge given falling real house prices, Derek Holt, head of capital market economics at Scotiabank, said in a note Tuesday.
"When you've got no growth in inflation-adjusted disposable income in the US, and you hit them with higher energy costs, the case for absorption is higher than the case for pass through," Holt said in the note.
The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract rose 0.8% to $85.18 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent edged up 0.3% to $91.15 per barrel a day after the deadline to reach a permanent peace deal with Iran expired.
"There are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran," President Trump posted on his social media platform. The Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the US meets the conditions of an interim deal signed with Iran in June, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing Iran's negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf in state media.
On the same day, Trump posted an image that showed the Strait of Hormuz as "New U.S. Territory." More than 80% of vessel transits through the Strait of Hormuz over the past two weeks have taken the Omani route - a UN-authorized shipping channel that Iran vehemently opposes - according to Kpler, which tracks ships using transponders and satellite data, CNN reported.
Gold futures dropped 1.8% to $4,392.70, and silver futures slumped 4% to $63.57.
In economic news, US housing starts plunged 12% sequentially to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.24 million units last month, the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development said. The consensus was for 1.35 million in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.
In company news, ExxonMobil (XOM) remains committed to growing Permian volumes, with a new 20-year integrated midstream agreement with Targa Resources (TRGP) supporting its long-term growth targets, UBS Securities said in a note Monday. Shares of Targa jumped 7.1%, the top gainer on the S&P 500.
