US markets ended sharply lower on Wednesday, as investors weighed renewed fighting in the Middle East, rising oil prices and continued concerns about the technology sector. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve left the federal funds rate unchanged at 3.50%-3.75% for a fifth consecutive meeting in July 2026, in line with expectations, despite markets assigning roughly a one-in-three probability to a rate hike. On the inventory front, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released a report showing a much sharper-than-expected pullback by U.S. crude oil inventories in the week ended July 24th. US crude inventories fell by 7.167 million barrels to 404.5 million barrels in the week ended July 24, compared with market expectations for a 1.3 million-barrel draw. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 771 thousand barrels in the week. Refinery crude runs rose by 271 thousand barrels per day. Refinery utilization rates rose by 1.1 percentage points in the week to 97.2%. On the sectoral front, Semiconductor stocks saw substantial volatility along with the broader markets before ending the day sharply lower. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index plummeted by 5.3 percent to its lowest closing level in three months.
Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 1,153.18 points or 2.19 percent to 51,594.14, S&P 500 was down by 112.63 points or 1.52 percent to 7,316.15 and Nasdaq decreased 433.97 points or 1.74 percent to 24,442.94.
About The Author
