[New York Stock Market] All Indices Falling Amid Middle East Tensions and PCE Data

Wall Street Opens Mixed
International Oil Prices Rise

Tensions between the United States and Iran have flared up again, and the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index recorded its highest growth rate in nearly three years. On May 28 (local time), all three major U.S. stock indices started mixed but are now trading lower.

According to the Home Trading System (HTS), as of 9:50 a.m. on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 138.08 points (0.27%) from the previous trading day, at 50,506.20. The S&P 500, which focuses on large-cap stocks, fell 10.37 points (0.13%) to 7,509.99, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Index dropped 67.03 points (0.25%) to 26,607.71.

On this day, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that the PCE Price Index for April rose by 3.8% year-on-year. This is the largest increase in 2 years and 11 months, since May 2023 (4.0%). On a month-on-month basis, it increased by 0.4%. Excluding energy and food, the core PCE Price Index rose 3.3% year-on-year, marking the highest figure since October 2023. Month-on-month, the core index increased by 0.2%.

While headline inflation is facing renewed upward pressure, the core inflation rate slowed from 0.3% in the previous month, indicating that the sharp rise feared by the market has not materialized. However, the rates still remain well above the Federal Reserve's target of 2%.

International oil prices have risen. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for July delivery was up 2.41% from the previous session, trading at $90.78. On the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent crude for July delivery rose 2% to $96.18.

According to CNBC, Amazon, a cloud-based data platform provider for Snowflake, saw its pre-market share price surge 38% after reporting first-quarter earnings and revenue above expectations, and also providing stronger-than-expected second-quarter guidance. At this moment, however, Amazon is down 1.32% from the previous session.

According to Tasnim News Agency, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it attacked a U.S. Air Force base on Thursday. This followed new U.S. airstrikes on Iranian military facilities. As a result, defense stocks such as Lockheed Martin (up 0.57%), AeroVironment (up 16.43%), and RTX (up 0.92%) are rising.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.