The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to early weakness on Wall Street on Wednesday, with stocks likely to see further downside after ending yesterday's volatile session mostly lower.
Concerns about a re-escalation of the conflict in the Middle East may weigh on Wall Street following the latest exchange of attacks between the U.S. and Iran.
U.S. Central Command said forces completed "self-defense strikes" against Iran on Tuesday at President Donald Trump's direction in response to the downing of a U.S. helicopter.
CENTCOM said forces struck Iranian air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz with precision munitions from U.S. Air Force and Navy fighter jets.
In retaliation, Iran attacked U.S. bases in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan and vowed it would leave no attack or threat unanswered.
Trump said in a subsequent post on Truth Social this morning that Iran has "taken too long to negotiate a deal" and will now have to "pay the price!"
The futures regained some ground following the release of a Labor Department report showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of May.
Following the sell-off seen last Friday and the subsequent rebound on Monday, stocks went on another roller coaster ride over the course of the trading session on Tuesday.
The major averages moved to the upside early in the session before pulling sharply only to regain ground in afternoon trading.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq eventually ended the session down 250.84 points or 1 percent at 25,678.82. The S&P 500 also fell 19.08 points or 0.3 percent to 7,386.65, while the narrower Dow rose 86.10 points or 0.2 percent to 50,872.11.
The notable pullback by the Nasdaq came amid renewed weakness among tech stocks, which had regained some ground on Monday following last Friday's sell-off.
Semiconductor stocks helped lead the sector lower before rebounding, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbling by 1.9 percent after spiking by 5.6 percent in the previous session.
Computer hardware, networking and software stocks also moved significantly lower, contributing to the slump by the Nasdaq.
Outside the tech sector, energy stocks also saw considerable weakness amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil.
U.S. crude oil futures plunged below $90 a barrel after President Donald Trump claimed the U.S. and Iran could reach a peace deal within "two or three days."
Trump also told reporters the Strait of Hormuz would open "immediately" after an agreement is reached, although his previous claims that a deal is close have not come to fruition.
Meanwhile, airline stocks benefitted from the steep drop in crude oil prices, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index surging by 3.7 percent.
Housing stocks also showed a substantial move to the upside, driving the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index up by 3.6 percent.
The strength in the sector came after the National Association of Realtors released a report showing existing home sales in the U.S. spiked by much more than anticipated in the month of May.
NAR said existing home sales surged by 3.2 percent to an annual rate of 4.17 million in May after climbing by 0.8 percent to an upwardly revised rate of 4.04 million in April.
Economists had expected existing home sales to jump by 1.5 percent to an annual rate of 4.08 million from the 4.02 million originally reported for the previous month.
Commodity, Currency Markets
Crude oil futures are jumping $1.09 to $89.29 a barrel after plunging $3.10 to $88.20 a barrel on Tuesday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $4,184.10, down $102.30 compared to the previous session's close of $4,276.40. On Tuesday, gold slumped $77.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 160.34 yen compared to the 160.36 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Tuesday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1562 compared to yesterday's $1.1543.
Asia
Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Wednesday as Middle East tension flared again and regional inflation data underscored persistent price pressures. Traders also awaited cues from key U.S. CPI data that might show inflation at a three-year high in May.
The dollar was steady, while gold prices tumbled below $4,200 an ounce after an American helicopter was downed over the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. struck Iranian air defense, ground control stations, and surveillance radar sites in retaliation.
Iran attacked Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan and vowed it would leave no attack or threat unanswered. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on the social platform X, "Leave our region if you want to be safe."
Brent crude futures fell toward $91 a barrel in Asian trade on concerns about the outlook for global growth and energy demand.
China's Shanghai Composite Index dropped 0.4 percent to 3,993.23 after the release of mixed inflation data. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.6 percent to 24,407.96, extending losses to a sixth consecutive session amid a renewed sell-off in selected technology shares.
Data showed earlier today that Chinese consumer price inflation unexpectedly stalled in May, while factory prices rose at the fastest pace in almost four years amid higher energy and raw material costs.
Japanese markets tumbled and the yen held near its weakest level since April as traders remained alert for possible intervention by authorities to support the currency.
In economic news, data showed Japan's producer price index jumped 6.3 percent year-on-year in May, up from a 5.3 percent gain in April and beating market forecasts of 5.5 percent as inflationary pressures rippled across domestic supply chains.
The Nikkei 225 Index slumped 1.9 percent to 64,179.27 as investors priced in a rate hike from the Bank of Japan at the June 16 policy meeting. The broader Topix Index settled 1.3 percent lower at 3,847.60.
Seoul stocks nosedived amid rising U.S.-Iran tensions and ongoing rotation out of technology stocks.
The Kospi Index plummeted 4.5 percent to 7,730.82, raising fears that retail investors who used borrowed funds to buy stocks could face heavy losses. Samsung Electronics, SK Squarer and SK Hynix lost 6-8 percent.
Australian markets snapped a three-session losing streak, with banks and consumer stocks pacing the gainers. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.6 percent to 8,653.30, while the broader All Ordinaries Index closed up 0.4 percent at 8,857.
Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index rose 0.4 percent to 13,253.65, extending gains from the previous session.
Europe
European stocks have moved mostly lower on Wednesday as tensions between Washington and Tehran have escalated.
Iran launched attacks on U.S. bases in Jordan and Bahrain after the United States carried out its own attacks on the Islamic Republic in response to Tehran shooting down an American helicopter.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank meets on Thursday, with economists expecting the central bank to hike interest rates amid spiking energy prices.
While the German DAX Index is down by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.2 percent.
Systemair shares have soared after the Swedish ventilation maker reported fourth-quarter revenue and profit ahead of market expectations.
Meanwhile, British travel retailer WHSmith has plummeted after cutting its annual profit forecast for the second time this year.
U.S. Economic News
A report released by the Labor Department on Wednesday showed consumer prices in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of May.
The Labor Department said its consumer price index rose by 0.5 percent in May after climbing by 0.6 percent in April. The price growth matched expectations.
The annual rate of consumer price growth accelerated to 4.2 percent in May from 3.8 percent in April, which was also in line with estimates.
The report also said core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, crept up by 0.2 percent in May after rising by 0.4 percent in April. Economists had expected core prices to increase by 0.3 percent.
The annual rate of core consumer price growth inched up to 2.9 percent in May from 2.8 percent in April, which matched expectations.
At 10:30 am ET, the Energy Information Administration is due to release its report on crude oil inventories in the week ended June 5th. Crude oil inventories are expected to decrease by 4 million barrels.
The Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the results of this month's auction of $39 billion worth of ten-year notes at 1 pm ET.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.