Stock market today: Nasdaq pares losses, Dow and S&P 500 fall as oil jumps amid US-Iran tensions

Updated Wed, July 8, 2026 at 10:43 AM PDT 2 min read

US stocks pared losses on Wednesday, while oil continued to surge after President Trump declared that the memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran was "over."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 1.1%, or more than 500 points, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) dropped 0.3%. The tech-weighted Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) bounced back from steeper losses to trade near the flat line following a down day for US markets.

Markets are digesting a sharp reescalation in US-Iran tensions after American forces carried out a "series of powerful strikes" against Iran late Tuesday in response to attacks on three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

President Trump, speaking in Ankara ahead of a NATO summit, stated that the US-Iran ceasefire agreement was over amid the flare-up in hostilities. "As far as I'm concerned, it's just a waste of time dealing with them," Trump said of Iran.

However, the president later added that he didn't think the war in Iran would fully restart, Bloomberg reported, even as he suggested that the US would "probably hit them hard again tonight."

Energy markets have been shaken after the Treasury revoked a license that had allowed Iran to export oil globally, adding to concerns over potential supply disruptions. Crude prices climbed by about 5%, with West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) trading above $73 a barrel and Brent (BZ=F) holding near $78 a barrel.

Attention now shifts to Wednesday afternoon's release of minutes from the Fed's June meeting. Investors will parse the document for clues about policymakers' thinking after the Fed held interest rates steady at its first meeting under Chairman Kevin Warsh. Bets from traders swung even harder toward a rate hike coming this year, potentially as soon as the Fed's October meeting, per CME data.