Wall Street Indexes Close Lower for Second Consecutive Day Ahead of CPI Release

Wall Street.

The three major U.S. stock indexes extended their losses for the second straight day.

The Nasdaq fell 0.6%, while the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both dropped by around 0.3%.

By sector, communication services dropped 2% and real estate saw a notable decline, whereas utilities rose 1%.

U.S. stocks fell across the board as tensions persisted between the United States and Iran over navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran stated firmly that it will not open the strait until the U.S. ends the war and releases frozen Iranian funds.

U.S. President Donald Trump countered that the U.S. military has already secured control of the strait, but local media pointed out that passage remains restricted.

Market sentiment was weighed down by anxiety that if the closure of the Strait of Hormuz drives up global oil prices, inflation concerns could prevent the Federal Reserve from easily lowering interest rates.

These concerns were compounded by worries over a slowing real economy, as existing home sales in July fell for the second consecutive month to hit a three-month low.

While major tech stocks suffered from negative news—with Alphabet plunging more than 3% amid additional risks from a lawsuit related to the harmfulness of youth platforms—AI memory stocks such as SanDisk and Micron rose across the board.

Market attention is now focused on the earnings report from Cisco Systems and the July Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is set to be released at 9:30 PM tonight, Korea time.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.