A deepening sell-off gripped Wall Street midday Wednesday as crude oil spiked on a fresh U.S.-Iran escalation just hours before the Federal Reserve’s rate verdict, dragging the S&P 500 to four-week lows and knocking the Nasdaq 100 down more than 10% from prior records.
President Donald Trump threatened strikes against Iran in response to attacks on U.S. targets in Jordan. The threat landed alongside a new round of Treasury sanctions aimed at what officials called Iran’s Strait of Hormuz “monetization.”
That was enough to reignite the energy trade and drain risk appetite.
• State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF shares are advancing steadily. Why is XLE stock trading higher?
West Texas Intermediate crude surged 6.7% to $84.58 a barrel, bringing its one-month gain to roughly 22%, while Brent jumped 7.4% to $90.27.
