US markets ended lower on Wednesday amid uncertainty about the situation in the Middle East, as negotiations between the U.S and Iran continue to drag on. The United States military said it carried out ‘self-defense strikes’ in response to renewed Iranian missile strikes against regional countries, despite talks of a potential Washington-Tehran deal. Traders remained cautious as the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released a report showing a significant decrease in U.S. crude oil inventories in the week ended May 29. US crude inventories fell by 7.974 million barrels in the week ended May 29, the most since February and exceeding expectations for a 4 million barrel draw. Traders overlooked a report released by payroll processor ADP showed private businesses in the US added a net 122,000 jobs in May 2026, a new high since January 2025, compared to a downwardly revised 105,000 in April and above forecasts of 117,000. Traders also paid no heed towards the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing its reading on U.S. service sector activity increased by more than expected in the month of May. The ISM Services PMI increased to 54.5 in May 2026 from 53.6 in April, above forecasts of 53.8. The reading pointed to the strongest gain in the services sector in three months, with faster growth seen for business activity (57.7 vs 55.9), new orders (57.3 vs 53.5) and inventories (62.5 vs 53.1).
Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 620.72 points or 1.21 percent to 50,687.07, Nasdaq decreased 239.92 points or 0.89 percent to 26,853.97 and S&P 500 fell 56.1 points or 0.74 percent to 7,553.68.
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