US equity trading resumed on Tuesday after a long weekend with broad weakness, as higher oil prices renewed concerns about near-term interest-rate pressure. The prospect that the European Central Bank will act again on Thursday is already widely seen as near-certain.
The Dow Jones Industrial, which is more heavily weighted toward traditional industrial names, fell 1.2% by the end of the first hour to 52,773 points. The broader S&P 500 declined 0.4% to 7,686. The technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 fared better but was still down 0.2% at 29,488, as gains in AI-linked shares, again concentrated in semiconductors, were not enough to offset broader selling.
Anastasia Amoroso of Partners Group told Bloomberg TV that markets are likely in a digestion phase because central banks around the world are undergoing a significant policy adjustment. She said equity prices could give back part of earlier gains or at least consolidate.
Oil shares were among the few clear winners. Chevron, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips benefited as crude prices continued to rise. Brent crude for November delivery traded above $98 a barrel, close to the psychologically important $100 level. Traders cited attacks by Yemen's Houthi militia on Saudi Arabia; the Gulf region's largest oil producer halted output at some facilities near the Yemen border.
Semiconductors extended Friday's gains. Intel, ARM and Broadcom each rose at least 2%. Qualcomm jumped 5% after saying it would partner with Amazon to supply customized data-center chips, a deal that also includes options for a stock purchase.
Bloom Energy shares gained 8.4% ahead of inclusion in the S&P 500. Boston Scientific fell 3% following a cyberattack. Dyne Therapeutics dropped 22% in a weak pharmaceutical sector, dragged down by negative news from Novartis, which has comparable drug candidates. The Swiss company reported a setback for Pelacarsen, a cardiovascular candidate, after a study failure, and also disclosed a further setback for Del-desiran, a drug for myotonic dystrophy.
