[New York Stock Exchange] Oil Prices Surge on Houthi-Saudi Clashes; Dow Falls 1.18%

Brent Crude Hits $99.46 Intraday
U.S. Treasury Yields Surge on Inflation Fears

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen launched a large-scale retaliatory attack targeting facilities of Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company Aramco and an air force base. This attack disrupted operations at some energy facilities, causing international oil prices to surge. As concerns about reigniting inflation spread, all three major indices on the New York Stock Exchange closed lower on the 8th (local time).

At the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 628.18 points (1.18%) from the previous trading day to close at 52,786.07. The S&P 500 index, which focuses on large caps, declined by 45.08 points (0.58%) to 7,673.52, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index dropped by 85.57 points (0.32%) to end at 26,421.41.

Inside the New York Stock Exchange. New York (USA) = Special Correspondent Yoonjoo Hwang

Investor sentiment was subdued in the market today due to the sharp rise in international oil prices. Recently, clashes between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces and the Houthis have intensified, and airstrikes targeting Houthi bases in Yemen have continued.

The Houthis claimed that recent airstrikes in Yemen were Saudi attacks and, in retaliation, carried out missile and drone strikes targeting Aramco facilities and air force bases in southern Saudi Arabia. However, Saudi Arabia has not officially confirmed the Houthis' claims.

As a result, at the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for October delivery rose 1.69% to $93.03 per barrel compared to the previous session. On the ICE Futures Exchange, Brent crude for November delivery ended at $97.92 per barrel, up 0.95% from the previous session. In intraday trading, Brent crude soared to $99.46 per barrel, the highest level since July 24.

Hamad Hussain, senior economist at research firm Capital Economics, commented, "Participants in the oil market are now pricing in the possibility that disruptions to maritime transportation will last longer."

Amid the sharp increase in international oil prices, investors are paying close attention to inflation data to be released this week, as it could offer clues about monetary policy ahead of next week's Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting. According to FedWatch, the federal funds futures market is pricing in a 59% probability that the Fed will raise its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points at the September meeting.

Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide, said, "If the Consumer Price Index (CPI) comes in higher than expected, it will become very difficult to avoid a rate hike," noting, "That is currently the main concern for investors."

The surge in energy prices and renewed inflation concerns also drove government bond yields higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury closed at 4.805%, and the 30-year Treasury yield rose to 5.264%, nearing its highest level in 19 years. The yield on the rate-sensitive 2-year U.S. Treasury finished at 4.396%.

Another factor weighing on the market was the retaliatory tariffs announced by Canada. Starting today, Canada imposed retaliatory tariffs on approximately $20 billion worth of U.S. products.

By sector, semiconductor stocks showed strength during the session despite rising oil prices. AMD rose by 5.90%, SK hynix ADR by 4.83%, Broadcom by 2.98%, and Intel by 9.05%. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) also finished up by 1.19%. On the other hand, Nvidia dropped 2.01%, Microsoft (MS) 1.15%, Alphabet 0.03%, and Meta 0.53%.

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