NEW YORK, Sept 2 ( Bernama-Xinhua) -- US stocks lost ground on Tuesday as a new wave of US military strikes against Iran drove crude oil prices higher, compounding pressure from climbing US bond yields, reported Xinhua.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 419.02 points, or 0.79 per cent, to 52,766.88. The S&P 500 sank 54.67 points, or 0.71 per cent, to 7,631.47. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 271.12 points, or 1.03 per cent, to 26,099.77.
Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in the red, with consumer discretionary and industrials leading the laggards by dropping 1.89 per cent and 1.39 per cent, respectively. Meanwhile, energy and utilities led the gainers by adding 1.54 per cent and 0.85 per cent, respectively.
Global energy markets rallied sharply following the fresh round of US airstrikes on Iranian targets. West Texas Intermediate for October delivery went up by US$4.46, or 5.2 per cent, to settle at US$90.22 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for November delivery gained US$4.16, or 4.6 per cent, to settle at US$94.65 a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
Fixed-income pressures intensified alongside rising energy benchmarks. The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note rose to 4.79 per cent, touching its highest intraday level since January 2025, while the 30-year bond yield climbed to 5.26 per cent, hovering near multi-decade highs.
On the macroeconomic front, data from the Job Openings and Labour Turnover Survey showed domestic job openings ticked up slightly in July, signalling labour market stability. Separately, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported that US manufacturing activity expanded for the eighth consecutive month in August, though the pace of expansion moderated slightly.
"Another firm ISM manufacturing index boosts confidence in the durability of the recovery in the sector, fuelled by the ongoing surge in tech-related capital expenditure," wrote James Knightley, chief international economist at ING. "However, the economy continues to create limited numbers of jobs with wage pressures remaining remarkably benign."
On the trade front, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stated that a mutually beneficial bilateral agreement with the US remains achievable, but noted that formal discussions cannot resume amid public rhetoric from US officials targeting Canada.
In corporate earnings, cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks and Dell Technologies fell 5.24 per cent and 6.8 per cent, respectively, ahead of their quarterly financial disclosures after the closing bell. Market attention will turn to Broadcom's quarterly report on Wednesday, while the US Labour Department's August employment report on Friday remains the key economic release of the week.
-- NNN-BERNAMA-XINHUA