Stocks Slide as Risk-Off Mood Takes Hold and Oil Jumps on Middle East Fears
The Nasdaq 100 tumbled as much as 2.7% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped over 6% intraday, while Brent crude surged past $112 a barrel after renewed Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia stoked fears of a wider Middle East conflict.
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By Principle Post Staff·Published
A close-up of a stock index chart showing a volatile green price line · Source: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg
US stocks extended their decline Thursday afternoon as escalating concern over conflict in the Middle East pushed oil prices sharply higher, feeding inflation worries just weeks before the US midterm elections. The Nasdaq 100 fell as much as 2.7% and the S&P 500 dropped 1.4%, with selling concentrated heavily in technology megacaps.
Chips lead the selloff
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbled 6.2% intraday, its steepest drop since July, as renewed anxiety over the scale of AI infrastructure spending weighed on chip stocks. High-growth technology names came under particular pressure after earnings from Tesla and Meta Platforms did little to ease investor concerns about how much the industry is spending on AI buildouts relative to the returns it's generating.
Oil added to the risk-off mood, with Brent crude climbing more than 3% to around $112 a barrel, near a five-month high, after fresh Houthi attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure stoked fears of broader supply disruption. The combination of a potential Middle East escalation and rising doubts about AI spending left investors favoring safety, with the dollar trading mixed and Treasury yields retreating as the session wore on.
